The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered among the most significant occupants of that position in US history. While many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it today."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a document detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether weak or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? This represents a nice way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
