The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance presently."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
