The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of that position in US history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced then and I believe it presently."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (including "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to act independently when collective action prove impossible," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's visage that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were whether weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist'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 corner that remains unseen leave his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
