The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. While many second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush resented that description and said the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it then and I hold that view presently."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution 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 saw, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and graft."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memorandum outlining situations in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether insubstantial or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly leave his hole? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling billions.
It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty
