The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant occupants of that position in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (including "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary 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 participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's face that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were whether thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
