The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and said the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, making him become focused on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, 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 founded on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (including "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when collective action prove impossible," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's visage that everyone had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were whether insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to work, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in business but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
