The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless VPs had to settle for marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unresponsive planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance today."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join 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 executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the company grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
