The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. Although countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing 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: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a effective way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
