The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. While countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his hole? It's a nice way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
