The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of that position in American history. Although many VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced then and I believe it today."
But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution 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, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed 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 regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? It's a nice way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
