The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance today."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a document outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, 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 participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were whether thin or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? That is a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm rose from his $258,394 when he was military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
