The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential occupants of that position in American history. Although many VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a document outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's face that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether weak or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as VP. While he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
