The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential holders of that position in American history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memo outlining circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were whether weak or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the corporation grew from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
