The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. While numerous vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (including "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book 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 corner that operates invisibly leave his hole? That is a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm rose from his $258,394 when he was military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
