The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. Whereas countless VPs were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memo outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme 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 floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a effective way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
