The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Although many second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The 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 strongly advocated 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 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults transformed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's face that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly leave his hole? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests followed him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
