The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, making him become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were both thin or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his lair? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, 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 presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation grew from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
