The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that office in US history. Although numerous VPs had to settle for minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unidentified aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his domain? This represents a nice way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
