The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential occupants of that position in American history. While numerous second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the right thing to do back then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memo detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in business but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
