The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of that office in American history. Although countless VPs had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, making him become determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company grew from his $258,394 while defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
