The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
A Aftermath of 9/11
In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it then and I maintain that stance presently."
However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a document setting out circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were whether thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."
Public Persona
Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen leave his lair? It's a nice way to function, truthfully."
Business Interests
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals worth billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm rose from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty
