The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant incumbents of that office in American history. Whereas countless VPs had to settle for minor or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention 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 attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove 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 declared his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? That is a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as VP. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm increased from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
