The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Although many second-in-commands were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and said the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the correct action to do back then. I had faith then and I hold that view presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation rose from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
