The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I believed it then and I hold that view now."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? This represents a nice way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm grew from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
