The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential occupants of that office in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney held enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".
Bush objected to that description and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the correct action to do back then. I believed it back then and I hold that view presently."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a memo setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the White House generally inclined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's face that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind invading Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were both insubstantial or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book 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 shadows that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty
