The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney held huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a team because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I believe it now."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's visage that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both thin or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
