The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant holders of that position in US history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and said the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo setting out situations in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly leave his lair? This represents a nice way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
