The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney held huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and said the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I hold that view now."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high 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 observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? It's a nice way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as VP. Even though he had little experience in business but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
