The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked that description and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
A Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the US Capitol.
Cheney said the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Debated Actions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I hold that view presently."
However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document setting out situations in which US concerns might be compromised (including "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush also had entered the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both thin or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."
External Perception
Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book 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 shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a nice way to work, actually."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his business interests accompanied him through his period as VP. While he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.
It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
