The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were both thin or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
