Former Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Impactful Time in Office

The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful occupants of that position in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".

Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.

A Period Following the Attacks

In charge of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unresponsive planes approaching the Capitol building.

Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Debated Actions

He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the correct action to do back then. I was convinced then and I hold that view today."

However even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.

Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.

Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to walk over.

Investigation Approaches

But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether weak or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.

Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."

Corporate Connections

Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.

It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty