The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential holders of that position in US history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it today."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were both weak or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly leave his hole? This represents a effective way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as VP. While he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary while defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
