One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Impactful Political Career

The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas countless VPs were limited to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".

Bush disliked that description and said the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.

A Aftermath of 9/11

Leading of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.

Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, making him become determined on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Disputed Decisions

He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced then and I hold that view today."

Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."

Broader Context

Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush too had arrived in the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.

Investigation Approaches

However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were both weak or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and torture.

Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, in fact."

Corporate Connections

Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.

It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty