The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as one of the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith then 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 White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? This represents a effective way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 when he was military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
