The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most significant incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Whereas many VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and said the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? That is a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
