The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Although countless VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for 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 meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I believe it today."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed 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 plan of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether thin or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the company grew from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
