The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential occupants of that office in American history. Although countless second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it today."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memo detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were both thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests followed him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 while military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
