The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I hold that view today."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as VP. Even though he had limited background in business but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
