The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of that position in US history. Although numerous second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney held substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I believed it then and I hold that view now."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars while military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
