The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most significant occupants of that position in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to that description and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document detailing situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were either insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
