The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I believed it then and I believe it presently."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were whether weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? This represents a effective way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as VP. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
