The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. While many second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I had faith back then and I hold that view presently."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether thin or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation increased from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
