The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. While many VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I believed it then and I believe it now."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had little experience in business but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
