The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. Although many second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (including "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his domain? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
