The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most significant occupants of that position in the nation's history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I had faith then and I maintain that stance today."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (including "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
