The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most significant occupants of that office in American history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands had to settle for minor or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
A Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance now."
But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's face that everyone had to step on.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were both insubstantial or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 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 took pleasure in labels imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication 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 shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a effective way to operate, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty