The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I believe it presently."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a document detailing circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed 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 declared his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were both thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author'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 shadows that operates invisibly leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in business but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
