The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which US concerns might be endangered (including "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating 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 evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? It's a effective way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
