The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives 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 reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unidentified planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo detailing situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's visage that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, 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 background that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in business but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
