The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. While numerous second-in-commands were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, making him become determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I believe it today."
But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether thin or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a effective way to work, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
