The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. While many vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to apprehend the bastards 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 credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in business but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
