The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Although countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "real president".
Bush resented that description and said the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary 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 participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Debated Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it presently."
However even at the time, 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 not reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memo outlining scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session 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 held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were whether thin or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? This represents a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary when he was military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
