The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were confined to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unidentified aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a document setting out circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in business but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
