The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Although numerous VPs had to settle for marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I believed it then and I believe it presently."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were both weak or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
