The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential incumbents of that office in the nation's history. While numerous VPs were confined to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th 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 made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memorandum setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation grew from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
