The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While countless vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion 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 participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I hold that view presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (including "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether thin or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 while military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
