The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most influential incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction 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, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the proper decision to do then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be threatened (including "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to act independently when collective action prove impossible," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, 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 lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were either thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, 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 nobody ever sees leave his domain? That is a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
