The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that office in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it now."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty
