The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of that position in US history. While many VPs were confined to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a document outlining scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's countenance that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly leave his lair? That is a nice way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
