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

The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant holders of that office in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "true president".

Bush objected to that description and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.

The Period Following the Attacks

At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary 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. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Debated Decisions

He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view today."

But even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.

Bush additionally had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.

Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were either weak or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.

Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his hole? This represents a nice way to work, truthfully."

Business Interests

Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at multiple billions.

It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars while military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty