One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Powerful Government Service

The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.

The Period Following the Attacks

In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.

Cheney stated the attacks changed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Debated Policies

He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the correct action to do then. I believed it back then and I believe it now."

Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and graft."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a document outlining scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's face that everyone had to step on.

Interrogation Methods

But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.

Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."

Public Persona

Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his domain? That is a nice way to function, in fact."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty