The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant holders of that position in American history. While countless VPs were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unidentified planes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper 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 even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him during his tenure as VP. While he had little experience in business but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top 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 yearly compensation during his period at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
