The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential occupants of that position in American history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance today."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's visage that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? That is a nice way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as VP. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
