The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful holders of that position in US history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the right thing to do then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance presently."
However even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were both thin or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees leave his hole? That is a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings 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 totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
