The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless VPs were limited to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were both weak or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
