The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of that position in American history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do then. I believed it back then and I hold that view now."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were either insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his lair? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
