The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that position in US history. Although many VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view presently."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? It's a effective way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
