The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant incumbents of that office in American history. Although many VPs had to settle for minor or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association 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 governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unidentified aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (including "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's visage that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
