The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most significant incumbents of that office in US history. While countless second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded huge power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.
A Aftermath of 9/11
Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks changed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."
However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing situations in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were whether thin or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a effective way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at substantial sums.
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 millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty
