The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most significant incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Although countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining situations in which US concerns might be compromised (including "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to apprehend the individuals 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 Image
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book 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 background that nobody ever sees leave his hole? This represents a effective way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his previous salary when he was military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty
