The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although numerous second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, making him become focused on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do then. I believed it then and I hold that view presently."
However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a nice way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
