The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view now."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to capture the individuals 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 took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? This represents a effective way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
