Ex- Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Influential Political Career

The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. Although many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "true president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.

A Period Following the Attacks

Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes approaching the Capitol building.

Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Decisions

He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I had faith then and I believe it presently."

Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo detailing situations in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.

Bush too had entered the White House generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted 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 proposed military action against Iraq.

Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that each person had to walk over.

Questioning Techniques

However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.

Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."

Public Persona

Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."

Commercial Ties

Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty