One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Powerful Government Service

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although many VPs were confined to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney held enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "true president".

Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.

The Post-9/11 Era

Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed 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 September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Disputed Policies

He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance now."

However 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 area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a document setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.

Bush additionally had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.

Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.

Investigation Approaches

However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were either weak or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.

Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, in fact."

Commercial Ties

Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty