One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Influential Time in Office

The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most significant holders of that position in US history. Although numerous VPs had to settle for peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "true president".

Bush resented this portrayal and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.

A Aftermath of 9/11

In charge of a faction of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Debated Actions

He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance now."

Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."

Broader Context

Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired 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 declared his objective of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.

Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to walk over.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and torture.

Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."

External Perception

Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a nice way to operate, truthfully."

Commercial Ties

Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.

In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at substantial sums.

It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars while military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty