The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered among the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unidentified planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memo detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as VP. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
