The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas many VPs were confined to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating 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 assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering 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 parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing 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: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
