The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. Although numerous vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney held substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a team because it implied that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or 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 information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance today."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling 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 the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his $258,394 while military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty