The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas numerous VPs had to settle for marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view presently."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were both weak or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
