One-time Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Impactful Government Service

The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant occupants of that position in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".

Bush objected to that description and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.

A Post-9/11 Era

At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Controversial Policies

He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured 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 was the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced then and I hold that view today."

But even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.

Questioning Techniques

Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were both thin or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.

Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."

External Perception

Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author'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 sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? That is a nice way to work, in fact."

Corporate Connections

Debate over his business interests followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in commerce but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling substantial sums.

It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty