The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most significant incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that included military head 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. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I hold that view today."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document setting out circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action prove impossible," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were whether weak or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? This represents a nice way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
