The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Although countless VPs were limited to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced then and I believe it today."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals worth billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
