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

The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. Whereas countless VPs were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".

Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.

The Post-9/11 Era

At the head of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer 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 gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney said the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Controversial Policies

He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I believed it back then and I believe it today."

Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memo detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.

Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were whether weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and torture.

Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."

External Perception

Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author'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 corner that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to operate, in fact."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling multiple billions.

It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty