The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential occupants of that office in American history. Although countless VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance today."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, 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 participation in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
