The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered among the most significant occupants of that office in the nation's history. Although countless VPs were limited to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney said the attacks transformed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Together 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 strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Controversial Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."
Yet even then, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing situations in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.
Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's countenance that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen emerge from his domain? That is a effective way to function, in fact."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty
