The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly come out of his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests followed him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation rose from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
