The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Although countless VPs were confined to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance today."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a document detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? This represents a effective way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars while military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
