The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant occupants of that office in the nation's history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention 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 attending a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unidentified aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a document setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 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 credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? It's a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
