The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of that position in the nation's history. While many vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a advantageous way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
