The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Although numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney held huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I believe it now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a document detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers 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 the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his domain? That is a nice way to work, in fact."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals worth billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary while military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty
