The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that position in US history. Although numerous VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it now."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether thin or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen leave his domain? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 when he was military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
