The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention 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 participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance presently."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were either weak or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his hole? This represents a effective way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as VP. Although he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
