The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most powerful incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
A Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I hold that view presently."
Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a document outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's face that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth substantial sums.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty
