The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the right thing to do then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a document setting out circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (including "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House generally inclined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume 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 emerge from his hole? This represents a effective way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had little experience in business but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
