The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While many second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether thin or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
