The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant occupants of that office in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading 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 reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the correct action to do then. I believed it then and I hold that view presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
