The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. Although numerous VPs were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a team because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (including "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
