The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of that office in US history. While countless VPs were limited to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced then and I believe it presently."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo detailing situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were either thin or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? That is a effective way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as VP. While he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars while military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
