The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Although many second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes changed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Policies
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced at the time 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 government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's face that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his lair? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at substantial sums.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty
