One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Influential Political Career

The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as among the most powerful incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "actual president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.

A Post-9/11 Era

At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the government building.

Cheney stated the strikes changed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Debated Policies

He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view today."

Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.

Investigation Approaches

But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were either weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.

Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to apprehend the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating 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: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a nice way to function, in fact."

Corporate Connections

Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty