The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most significant incumbents of that position in US history. Although countless VPs were confined to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I believed it at the time and I believe it today."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple 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 objective of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 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 took pleasure in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating 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: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly leave his lair? This represents a nice way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
