The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 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 made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a document setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After 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 stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a effective way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
