Ex- VP Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Impactful Time in Office

The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands were confined to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.

The Period Following the Attacks

In charge of a group of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion 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 participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Disputed Policies

He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the right thing to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."

Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memo setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (including "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's visage that each person had to step on.

Investigation Approaches

Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and torture.

Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to apprehend 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."

Public Persona

Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen come out of his lair? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."

Business Interests

Controversy over his business interests followed him through his period as VP. Although he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth multiple billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty