The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as arguably the most significant occupants of that office in the nation's history. Whereas many second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith back then and I hold that view presently."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency generally inclined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's visage that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to capture the bastards who murdered 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 credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels 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 journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? It's a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in business but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
