The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney held enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, making him become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I believe it today."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum setting out situations in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief 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 involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were both insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a effective way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
