The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas many VPs were confined to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, making him become determined on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance now."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his hole? This represents a effective way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests followed him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
