The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas countless VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a team because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation 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 proper decision to do back then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memo setting out circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to 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 plan of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were both thin or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his lair? That is a effective way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
