The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential incumbents of that position in American history. Although many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith then and I hold that view presently."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that remains unseen leave his domain? This represents a effective way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
