The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a team because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, making him become determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I believed it back then and I believe it today."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memorandum setting out scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were both weak or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 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 praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
