The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While countless VPs were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance today."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum setting out circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired 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 intention of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme 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 hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were either insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his domain? That is a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as vice-president. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
