The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "real president".
Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Actions
He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance today."
Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and torture.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a effective way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. While he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty
