The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of suspects 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 right course of action. "It was the correct action to do then. I believed it then and I believe it today."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen leave his domain? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the firm grew from his $258,394 when he was military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
