The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Although many second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I believed it then and I believe it today."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as VP. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
