The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant incumbents of that position in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? This represents a nice way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time 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 energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
