Ex- Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Impactful Government Service

The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".

Bush objected to this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.

The Aftermath of 9/11

Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Policies

He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I believe it presently."

But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.

Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.

Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.

Investigation Approaches

Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were either weak or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.

Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."

External Perception

Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen leave his hole? This represents a effective way to work, truthfully."

Business Interests

Debate over his business interests pursued him through his period as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.

In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty