The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential occupants of that office in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary 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 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I hold that view presently."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when collective action prove impossible," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were both insubstantial or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? This represents a nice way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
