The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most significant incumbents of that position in American history. While countless second-in-commands were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I hold that view presently."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a document setting out situations in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's visage that each person had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 when he was military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty
