The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney held substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memo outlining scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his hole? This represents a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
