The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (including "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were whether thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees leave his lair? It's a effective way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his $258,394 during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
