The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most influential occupants of that position in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands were confined to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney held enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I had faith then and I believe it now."
However during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, incompetence, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum detailing scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when collective action prove impossible," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to walk over.
Investigation Approaches
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were either thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and torture.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in labels 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 quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen leave his lair? It's a effective way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation increased from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty
