The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Although many VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably 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 suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."
But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
