The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most influential holders of that position in American history. Although numerous VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith then and I hold that view presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? It's a effective way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company rose from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
