The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered among the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I believe it now."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given 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 controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a effective way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
