Ex- Vice-President Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Powerful Political Career

The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant holders of that position in US history. While countless second-in-commands were confined to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "actual president".

Bush resented this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.

The Period Following the Attacks

In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.

Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Actions

He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I believe it now."

But during that period, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.

Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.

Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were whether thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.

Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his hole? It's a effective way to operate, truthfully."

Corporate Connections

Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.

In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at multiple billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation increased from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty