The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While numerous VPs were confined to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I hold that view today."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's visage that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as VP. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
