The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I believe it today."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a effective way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
