The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that office in US history. Although numerous VPs were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it now."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which national priorities might be endangered (including "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's face that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were whether thin or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? It's a effective way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
