The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? It's a effective way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
