Former Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Impactful Time in Office

The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most significant occupants of that office in the nation's history. While many VPs were limited to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "true president".

Bush objected to this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.

A Post-9/11 Era

At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unidentified airplanes nearing the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Debated Policies

He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance today."

But even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memo setting out circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.

Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were both weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.

Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to apprehend 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 merit a lot of credit."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to work, actually."

Corporate Connections

Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company rose from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty