The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs had to settle for marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a team because it implied that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance now."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired 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 plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's face that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as VP. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary when he was military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
