The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Although numerous VPs were limited to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I believed it then and I believe it presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a document setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed 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 armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either thin or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
