The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I believed it then and I believe it presently."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document detailing circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were whether weak or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? That is a advantageous way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the firm increased from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
