The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted 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 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum setting out scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a nice way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
