The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Although numerous vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, making him become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I was convinced then and I hold that view now."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (including "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? It's a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
