The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in US history. While countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I believe it today."
But even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to act independently when collective action prove impossible," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen come out of his domain? That is a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as VP. While he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
