The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. While many second-in-commands were confined to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unresponsive planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith then and I believe it now."
However even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (including "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? That is a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his business interests pursued him through his period as VP. Although he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
