The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in US history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary 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 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were both weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
