The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Although many VPs were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, making him become focused on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I hold that view now."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memorandum setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing 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: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his hole? This represents a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
