Ex- Vice-President Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Impactful Time in Office

The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant occupants of that position in American history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "true president".

Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.

The Aftermath of 9/11

Leading of a group of neo-cons 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 response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive planes heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, making him become focused on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Controversial Policies

He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I believed it at the time and I hold that view now."

But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.

Bush also had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, 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 reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.

Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's visage that each person had to step on.

Questioning Techniques

However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and torture.

Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."

External Perception

Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by critics 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 reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to work, in fact."

Business Interests

Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at substantial sums.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the company increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty