The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas many second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "actual president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unidentified aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I hold that view today."
But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (including "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were either thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Controversy over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
