The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant incumbents of that office in US history. Although many second-in-commands were limited to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it presently."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? It's a effective way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
