The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most significant incumbents of that position in American history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.
A Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I had faith then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. Although 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 energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
