The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume 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 lair? It's a effective way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
