The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I had faith back then and I hold that view today."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier 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 role. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memorandum setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were both insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his domain? This represents a nice way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
