The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in American history. While many second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney held substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were either weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
