Ex- Vice-President Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Powerful Government Service

The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded huge power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".

Bush objected to this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.

A Aftermath of 9/11

At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.

Cheney stated the attacks changed him, making him become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Decisions

He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I was convinced then and I believe it presently."

But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and corruption."

Broader Context

Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (including "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.

Bush additionally had assumed the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.

Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's visage that each person had to walk over.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were either thin or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.

Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."

Public Persona

Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? That is a nice way to operate, actually."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling substantial sums.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary when he was military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty