The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of that office in American history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I believe it presently."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 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 credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power 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 sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly leave his hole? This represents a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm rose from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
