The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most influential incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Although many second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion 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 session at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive planes approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
