The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential occupants of that office in US history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memo setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (including "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were either thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the bastards who killed 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 recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in business but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
