The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned 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 no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memo setting out situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were either thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? That is a nice way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
