The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney held huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating planes nearing the government building.
Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees leave his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
