The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. While many VPs had to settle for marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be endangered (including "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? This represents a effective way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as VP. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm grew from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
