The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion 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 attending a session at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I believe it today."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? That is a effective way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
