The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to 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 these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command 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 session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the correct action to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it presently."
But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a nice way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, especially 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 became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation increased from his $258,394 when he was military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
