The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. Although many VPs were confined to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his hole? That is a effective way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
