The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless VPs were confined to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney held substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I believe it now."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a effective way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
