The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in US history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney held enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and said the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, making him become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were both insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his hole? That is a nice way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
