The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as VP. Even though he had limited background in business 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 companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the firm increased from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
