The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While countless VPs were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and said the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 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 based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were both weak or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, 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 cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? This represents a nice way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
