The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. Whereas many second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes approaching the government building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, making him become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view today."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memo setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were both thin or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the individuals who took the lives of 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 recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to work, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as VP. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
