The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential occupants of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs had to settle for marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, 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 military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? That is a effective way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
