The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, making him become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I believe it presently."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were both thin or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
