The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as among the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it today."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing situations in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's visage that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author'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 sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation grew from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
