The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of that position in American history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and claimed the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, making him become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Actions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance today."
Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memo setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following 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 announced his intention of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in 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 hotels 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 part of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were both weak or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, 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 corner that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? It's a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
