The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant occupants of that position in the nation's history. Whereas countless VPs were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I hold that view presently."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum detailing situations in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power 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 malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm grew from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
