The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. While countless VPs had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney held substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, making him become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith at the time and I believe it presently."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which national priorities might be endangered (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly leave his hole? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
