The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential occupants of that position in American history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I believe it now."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memo setting out situations in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's face that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the individuals 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 Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a effective way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
