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

The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. Whereas countless VPs were limited to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently 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 public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.

A Post-9/11 Era

At the head of a group of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the Capitol building.

Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Debated Actions

He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith then and I hold that view presently."

Yet even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document detailing situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush additionally had assumed the White House generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.

Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.

Interrogation Methods

However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were both weak or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and torture.

Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."

Public Persona

Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist'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 shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."

Corporate Connections

Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.

It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars while military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty