The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. While many VPs had to settle for minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, leading him to become determined 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 strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention 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 journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
