The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant incumbents of that office in American history. While many second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I believe it now."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memo outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were whether thin or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, 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 shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? That is a nice way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
