The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most significant holders of that office in American history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I hold that view presently."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memo setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were whether insubstantial or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him through his period as VP. Even though he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
