The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most powerful incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous second-in-commands had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, making him become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (including "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty
