The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in US history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and said the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I had faith then and I believe it now."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating 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 background that nobody ever sees leave his hole? That is a nice way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
