The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful holders of that position in US history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the right thing to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view today."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to act independently when collective action prove impossible," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were whether weak or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his hole? It's a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in business but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
