The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view now."
However even at the time, there were opposing views 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 not retained from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were whether thin or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data 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 put in place initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his hole? It's a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the firm rose from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
