The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Although many second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the right thing to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in business but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
