The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's visage that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, 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 quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? This represents a nice way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as VP. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars while military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
