The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. While countless vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response 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 elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion 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 estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I believed it then and I hold that view today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary 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 participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were whether thin or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
