The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas numerous VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I had faith then and I hold that view presently."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in business but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
