The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential occupants of that position in US history. Although numerous vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices 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 dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were either insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist'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 malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen leave his domain? That is a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
