The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant holders of that position in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memo detailing situations in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were both weak or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? This represents a effective way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
