The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Although countless second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a document outlining circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were both insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his hole? That is a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty
