The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant occupants of that position in American history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, making him become intent on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the right thing to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it now."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering 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 defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author'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 malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
