Ex- Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Influential Time in Office

The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. Although countless vice-presidents had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "real president".

Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.

The Aftermath of 9/11

Leading of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Debated Policies

He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I believe it presently."

Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a document setting out situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked 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 declared his intention of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to step on.

Interrogation Methods

But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and torture.

Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."

External Perception

Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly leave his lair? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."

Business Interests

Controversy over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty