The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of that position in US history. While many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the government building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, making him become focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith back then and I hold that view today."
Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document outlining situations in which American interests might be endangered (including "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were either weak or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation increased from his $258,394 when he was military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
