The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in US history. While countless VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith then and I believe it now."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to act independently when collective action prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's countenance that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen leave his domain? That is a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the company rose from his previous salary while military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
