The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that position in American history. Although many VPs were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired 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 announced his intention of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in business but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm rose from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
