The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. Although numerous second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney held enormous power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a document setting out situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were whether insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book 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 background that nobody ever sees leave his hole? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his previous salary while defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
