The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful holders of that office in US history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were confined to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty intelligence circulated 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 now."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (including "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were both weak or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? This represents a effective way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars while military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
