The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command 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 attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, making him become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? It's a nice way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company grew from his $258,394 when he was military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
