The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of that office in American history. While many second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become intent on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I hold that view today."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing situations in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's visage that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were whether weak or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create 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 earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a nice way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
