The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. While numerous second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unidentified planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I hold that view 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 delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were either thin or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a effective way to operate, in fact."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
