The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that office in the nation's history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the right thing to do back then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind 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 largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture 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 earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm rose from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
