The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential occupants of that office in US history. Whereas countless VPs had to settle for marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unidentified airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a document setting out situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were whether weak or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain 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 pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly leave his domain? It's a nice way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
