The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I had faith at the time and I believe it today."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book 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 corner that nobody ever sees leave his lair? It's a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
