The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas many vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, making him become focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were whether thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? It's a nice way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
