The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised huge power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I believe it now."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were both thin or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen come out of his hole? This represents a nice way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
