The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential occupants of that office in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief 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. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unidentified airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a effective way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty
