The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential occupants of that office in US history. While many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist'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 nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. While he had limited background in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
