The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance now."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining situations in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as VP. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
