One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Impactful Government Service

The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most significant occupants of that office in American history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".

Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.

A Period Following the Attacks

In charge of a group of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the government building.

Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Debated Policies

He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view today."

Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memo setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's visage that each person had to walk over.

Interrogation Methods

However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind invading Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.

Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives 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 credit."

Public Persona

Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the pair, 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 leave his hole? This represents a effective way to work, in fact."

Commercial Ties

Controversy over his business interests pursued him through his period as VP. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at substantial sums.

It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the company grew from his previous salary while defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty