The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney held huge power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, making him become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were whether thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication 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 corner that remains unseen come out of his domain? That is a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
