The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held enormous power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and said the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion 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 gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a document detailing situations in which US concerns might be endangered (including "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? This represents a effective way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
