The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of that position in US history. Although numerous second-in-commands had to settle for minor or symbolic positions, Cheney held enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated 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 session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's visage that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both weak or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in business but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation grew from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
