One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on the Impactful Government Service

The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful holders of that office in US history. Whereas many second-in-commands were confined to minor or symbolic roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "true president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.

A Period Following the Attacks

At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the Capitol building.

Cheney said the assaults changed him, making him become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Controversial Actions

He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith then and I hold that view today."

Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.

Bush too had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.

Questioning Techniques

Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.

Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."

External Perception

Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his hole? It's a advantageous way to function, truthfully."

Business Interests

Dispute over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling multiple billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty