The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant holders of that position in US history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were either thin or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating 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: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests followed him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in business but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
