The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs had to settle for peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I believe it now."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? This represents a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm increased from his previous salary when he was military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
