Ex- Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Powerful Political Career

The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Although countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "actual president".

Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.

A Aftermath of 9/11

At the head of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes approaching the government building.

Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Controversial Policies

He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view today."

However even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.

Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.

Questioning Techniques

However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.

Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."

External Perception

Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a nice way to work, actually."

Business Interests

Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth billions.

It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty