The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous second-in-commands were confined to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer 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 session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it today."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations 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. 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 stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators 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 deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating 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: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a nice way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had little experience in business but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
