The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas many VPs were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and said the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (including "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book 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 corner that remains unseen emerge from his lair? This represents a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
