The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of that position in US history. Although countless VPs had to settle for minor or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised huge power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I believed it then and I believe it today."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his hole? It's a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
