The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. While countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, making him become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, 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 firm rose from his $258,394 when he was military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
