The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I believe it now."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", 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 torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? That is a nice way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as VP. While he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
