The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential incumbents of that office in American history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I hold that view now."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a document detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were either thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, 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 background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
