The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance today."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's face that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
