One-time Vice-President Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Influential Time in Office

The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".

Bush disliked that description and claimed the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.

A Period Following the Attacks

In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating planes nearing the Capitol building.

Cheney stated the assaults changed him, making him become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Decisions

He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."

Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and graft."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted defense operations against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.

Questioning Techniques

Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were either thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.

Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a effective way to operate, in fact."

Corporate Connections

Dispute over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling substantial sums.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty