The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that office in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney held enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, making him become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memo detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both thin or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the perpetrators 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 earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
