The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. While many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, 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, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it now."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memo outlining circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House vaguely intent on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? That is a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as vice-president. Although he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
