The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unidentified aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, 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 invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the correct action to do then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly leave his hole? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his previous salary while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
