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

The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant incumbents of that office in American history. Although numerous vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney held substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "true president".

Bush disliked that description and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.

The Period Following the Attacks

In charge of a group of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.

Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Debated Actions

He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the right thing to do back then. I was convinced then and I hold that view today."

Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and corruption."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document detailing situations in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.

Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to step on.

Interrogation Methods

But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.

Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."

External Perception

Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to work, in fact."

Business Interests

Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at multiple billions.

It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty