The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant occupants of that office in US history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for 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 attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance now."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests followed him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
