The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant incumbents of that position in the nation's history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his lair? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
