The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential incumbents of that office in American history. While countless second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney held substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 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 military action, which was predicated on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."
But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were either weak or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
