The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential holders of that position in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I believed it at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's face that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
