The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unidentified planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, making him become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I believed it back then and I believe it now."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (including "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After 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 declared his plan of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether weak or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? That is a effective way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as VP. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
