The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were confined to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
