The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were confined to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unidentified aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance now."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum setting out circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's countenance that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his domain? This represents a nice way to function, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his previous salary while defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
