The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful occupants of that position in American history. While numerous second-in-commands were confined to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I believed it back then and I hold that view presently."
But even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had assumed the White House generally inclined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling 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 evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
