The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in US history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unidentified aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, making him become focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance today."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were whether weak or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a effective way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as VP. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
