The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant incumbents of that position in American history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memo setting out circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were either thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to apprehend 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 praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen leave his domain? This represents a effective way to function, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
