The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential occupants of that office in the nation's history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney held enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith back then and I hold that view presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing situations in which national priorities might be compromised (including "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen leave his hole? It's a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
