The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential occupants of that position in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were limited to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney held huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's face that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as VP. While he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his previous salary while military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
