The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential occupants of that position in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives 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 response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view today."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his lair? That is a nice way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in business but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
