The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While numerous VPs were confined to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memo detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (including "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking 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 hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's visage that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were either weak or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author'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 shadows that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a effective way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation rose from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
