The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in the nation's history. Although countless second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unidentified aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it presently."
But even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memo detailing situations in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the company grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
