The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant occupants of that office in US history. While countless VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated 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 session at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? It's a nice way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
