The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Although many VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance today."
However even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume 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 leave his lair? That is a nice way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
