Ex- Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on the Influential Political Career

The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although many VPs were confined to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.

A Aftermath of 9/11

Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Disputed Decisions

He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view presently."

Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly citing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.

Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his parent, 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 ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.

Interrogation Methods

But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and torture.

Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."

Public Persona

Cheney took pleasure in monikers assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, in fact."

Commercial Ties

Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts worth substantial sums.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty