The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential incumbents of that position in American history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public settings as the 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 these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either weak or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen leave his hole? This represents a effective way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman 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 deals totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
