The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although numerous vice-presidents were limited to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I believed it then and I believe it today."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when collective action prove impossible," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were whether thin or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? This represents a nice way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
