The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Although countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney held huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention 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 attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced then and I believe it presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, deception, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memo outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (including "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 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 credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume 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 shadows that remains unseen emerge from his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
