The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of that position in American history. Although countless VPs were confined to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion 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 session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it today."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following 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 declared his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed 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 directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
