The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty information 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 presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memorandum detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (including "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a effective way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
