One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Impactful Time in Office

The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead functions, Cheney held enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".

Bush resented that description and stated the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.

A Aftermath of 9/11

At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Disputed Decisions

He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view now."

However during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."

Broader Context

Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.

Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.

Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that all visitors had to step on.

Questioning Techniques

Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.

Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing 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 shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."

Corporate Connections

Dispute over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals worth substantial sums.

It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at in excess of $20m|twenty