The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of that office in US history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, making him become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the proper decision to do then. I believed it at the time and I believe it now."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memo detailing situations in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a effective way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 when he was military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
