The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I believed it then and I believe it today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining situations in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were either thin or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author'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 background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
