The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant occupants of that position in American history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unidentified aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, making him become focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do back then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his domain? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
