The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential incumbents of that office in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I hold that view now."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document setting out situations in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were either thin or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen emerge from his hole? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as VP. While he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
