The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Although numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I believe it now."
But even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, 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 diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's face that everyone had to walk over.
Questioning Techniques
Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? This represents a effective way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and top 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 contracts valued at multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
