Former Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on His Influential Government Service

The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most influential occupants of that position in American history. While countless VPs were limited to minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney held huge sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "real president".

Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a team because it implied that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.

A Post-9/11 Era

At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the US Capitol.

Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Actions

He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."

Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.

Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's visage that everyone had to walk over.

Investigation Approaches

But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were whether insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.

Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."

External Perception

Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling 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: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? That is a nice way to operate, actually."

Corporate Connections

Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his $258,394 when he was military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty