The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential incumbents of that position in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when collective action prove impossible," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book 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 background that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a effective way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
