Former Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Impactful Government Service

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of that position in American history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and said the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.

A Period Following the Attacks

At the head of a group of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Disputed Policies

He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."

Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and graft."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.

Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's countenance that everyone had to step on.

Questioning Techniques

However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.

Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? That is a advantageous way to function, truthfully."

Corporate Connections

Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in business but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty