The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in the nation's history. Although many second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a team because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed 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. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become intent on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured 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 right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I hold that view presently."
But even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memo setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, 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 operates invisibly emerge from his domain? That is a nice way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as VP. Although he had limited background in business but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
