The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most influential holders of that office in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense 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 attack, 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 command, ordering the downing of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, making him become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it presently."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level 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, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were whether weak or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
