The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. Whereas countless VPs were limited to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney held enormous 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 claimed the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memo setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were whether weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his hole? This represents a advantageous way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as VP. While he had limited background in business but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
