The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most influential incumbents of that position in US history. Although numerous second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I believe it today."
However even then, there were contrary opinions at a high 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 role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief 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 participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had little experience in business but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased 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
