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

The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful holders of that office in the nation's history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".

Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.

The Aftermath of 9/11

In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.

Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Controversial Policies

He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I believed it back then and I believe it now."

Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and graft."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum setting out circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush additionally had entered the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.

Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's visage that each person had to walk over.

Investigation Approaches

But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were either weak or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.

Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and top executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth multiple billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty