One-time Vice-President Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Powerful Political Career

The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most influential holders of that office in the nation's history. While numerous second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "true president".

Bush objected to that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.

A Period Following the Attacks

Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, making him become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Actions

He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."

However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a document setting out situations in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's countenance that each person had to walk over.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.

Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."

Commercial Ties

Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in business but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at substantial sums.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty