Former Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Impactful Political Career

The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. While numerous VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".

Bush resented that description and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.

A Aftermath of 9/11

In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.

Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Decisions

He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I had faith then and I maintain that stance presently."

However during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.

Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.

Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author'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 malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."

Corporate Connections

Debate over his business interests accompanied him through his period as VP. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling multiple billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty