One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Impactful Government Service

The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".

Bush resented that description and stated the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.

The Aftermath of 9/11

In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.

Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, making him become determined on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Policies

He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the correct action to do then. I believed it back then and I hold that view today."

But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and corruption."

Broader Context

Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush also had assumed the White House vaguely intent on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to assassinate 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 floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that everyone had to step on.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and torture.

Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."

External Perception

Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, truthfully."

Commercial Ties

Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.

In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars while military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty