The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen come out of his hole? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
