The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While many vice-presidents were confined to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, making him become focused on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals 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 correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance today."
But even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, 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 lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot 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 hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
