The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of that office in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance today."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (including "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were whether weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation rose from his $258,394 while military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
