The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most significant incumbents of that office in American history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were confined to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney held huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, making him become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Actions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet 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 position. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were either thin or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and torture.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his hole? It's a effective way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
