The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential occupants of that position in US history. Although countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the right thing to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memo outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House generally inclined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's visage that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were both insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees leave his hole? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as VP. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation grew from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
