The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith at the time and I believe it presently."
But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and graft."
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 composed a memorandum setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief 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 involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist'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 background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections 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 chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his $258,394 while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
