The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memorandum setting out scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to apprehend the individuals who murdered 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 recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, 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 shadows that operates invisibly come out of his hole? This represents a effective way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation grew from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
