The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. While countless vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the right thing to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it presently."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? That is a advantageous way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
