The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most significant occupants of that position in American history. Although many VPs had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I hold that view presently."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in business but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 when he was military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
