Former Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Influential Political Career

The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Although numerous VPs had to settle for minor or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "real president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.

A Period Following the Attacks

Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the government building.

Cheney said the assaults transformed him, leading him to become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Controversial Actions

He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the right thing to do then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view presently."

But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and graft."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.

Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.

Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.

Investigation Approaches

However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether insubstantial or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.

Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."

Public Persona

Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his hole? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."

Commercial Ties

Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling substantial sums.

It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty