The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential occupants of that office in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, making him become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it now."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
