The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant occupants of that position in US history. While numerous VPs had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following 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 reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether weak or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, 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 cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? That is a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
