The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential occupants of that office in US history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were limited to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, making him become focused on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it now."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a document outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed 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 stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume 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 background that operates invisibly leave his lair? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as VP. Although he had limited background in business but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
