The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered among the most significant holders of that office in American history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? This represents a nice way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the company increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
