The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as one of the most influential occupants of that office in American history. While many vice-presidents were limited to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I hold that view today."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were whether insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, 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 background that nobody ever sees leave his hole? It's a nice way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm rose from his $258,394 while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
