The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I believe it presently."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's face that everyone had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."
Corporate Connections
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.
It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
