The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
But even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were whether insubstantial or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the bastards who killed 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 Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
