The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Although numerous VPs were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive planes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the correct action to do back then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to catch the individuals who murdered 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 Image
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen leave his hole? This represents a effective way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time 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 corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
