The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential holders of that office in American history. Although countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for 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 attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked 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 diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were whether thin or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as VP. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the firm increased from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty
