The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. Whereas many VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney held substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and stated the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, making him become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a document setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were both weak or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating 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 nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? It's a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
