The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that office in American history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, making him become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."
But even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? That is a advantageous way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
