Ex- Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Powerful Government Service

The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of that office in American history. While countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".

Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a team because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.

A Post-9/11 Era

In charge of a faction of neo-cons that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence 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 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the government building.

Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Controversial Decisions

He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith back then and I believe it presently."

Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's countenance that each person had to walk over.

Interrogation Methods

However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.

Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a nice way to operate, in fact."

Commercial Ties

Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as VP. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth substantial sums.

It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars while military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty