The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While countless VPs had to settle for minor or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his domain? That is a effective way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation increased from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
