The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.
The Period Following the Attacks
In charge of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become focused on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Policies
He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I believed it back then and I hold that view presently."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum detailing circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when collective action prove impossible," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's countenance that each person had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were either thin or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly leave his lair? It's a nice way to function, actually."
Business Interests
Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as vice-president. While he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
