The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant occupants of that office in American history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the correct action to do then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were either thin or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? That is a advantageous way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
