One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Impactful Political Career

The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of that position in the nation's history. While countless second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".

Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.

A Period Following the Attacks

At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the government building.

Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Debated Policies

He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."

But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document setting out situations in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush additionally had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.

Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's visage that all visitors had to step on.

Investigation Approaches

But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were either weak or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.

Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."

Corporate Connections

Dispute over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling substantial sums.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty