The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential holders of that position in American history. Whereas countless VPs were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty reports 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 hold that view now."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a document detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to capture the bastards who took the lives of 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 praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a effective way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty