The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced then and I hold that view presently."
But even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either thin or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a effective way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
