The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in the nation's history. Although many VPs were confined to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and said the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I believe it now."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were whether thin or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? That is a nice way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
