The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant incumbents of that office in American history. While countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unidentified aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the correct action to do back then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were either weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his hole? This represents a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in business but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company rose from his previous salary while military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
