Former Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Influential Government Service

The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant occupants of that position in the nation's history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "real president".

Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.

The Period Following the Attacks

At the head of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.

Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Debated Decisions

He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view today."

However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memo setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.

Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's face that everyone had to tread upon.

Investigation Approaches

Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were whether weak or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and torture.

Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."

Public Image

Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen leave his hole? That is a effective way to function, truthfully."

Business Interests

Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.

It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty