The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most significant holders of that position in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unidentified aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it back then and I believe it today."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum setting out circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (including "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either thin or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
