The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of that office in American history. Although many second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance today."
But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memorandum detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (including "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were both weak or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests pursued him through his period as vice-president. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
