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

The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney held substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".

Bush resented such a characterisation and said the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.

The Post-9/11 Era

Leading of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.

Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Debated Policies

He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it then and I maintain that stance presently."

Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and graft."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.

Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.

Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's countenance that everyone had to walk over.

Investigation Approaches

Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and torture.

Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication 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 background that remains unseen emerge from his domain? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."

Business Interests

Dispute over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at substantial sums.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 when he was military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty