The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. While countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance now."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting 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 carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation grew from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
