The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most influential occupants of that position in the nation's history. While many second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the government building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the right thing to do back then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance now."
However even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his hole? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
