The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held substantial power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I had faith then and I maintain that stance presently."
But even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
