The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential occupants of that office in US history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated 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 educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unresponsive planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum detailing situations in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a nice way to function, actually."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty
