The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that position in American history. While countless VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney held enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were both thin or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the company grew from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
