The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in US history. While countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a group of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unresponsive planes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Policies
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance presently."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior 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 reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's visage that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly leave his lair? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm rose from his $258,394 while military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
