The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. While numerous second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, making him become focused on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I hold that view now."
Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memorandum detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his hole? It's a effective way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as VP. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the company increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
