The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. While numerous second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney held enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I believe it presently."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests followed him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the firm increased from his previous salary while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
