The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful holders of that position in US history. Although numerous second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to act independently when collective action prove impossible," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House generally inclined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether weak or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had little experience in business but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
