The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most influential incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Although many VPs were confined to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief 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 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced then and I hold that view today."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum detailing situations in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were both weak or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a effective way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as VP. While he had limited background in business but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
