The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant occupants of that position in American history. Although many VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention 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 attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it today."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? That is a nice way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm increased from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
