Ex- Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Powerful Government Service

The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that office in the nation's history. Although countless second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".

Bush objected to that description and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.

A Period Following the Attacks

At the head of a faction of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.

Cheney stated the strikes changed him, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Disputed Policies

He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the right thing to do then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."

But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and graft."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's face that everyone had to step on.

Investigation Approaches

But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.

Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to catch the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."

Public Persona

Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? This represents a effective way to operate, truthfully."

Business Interests

Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals totaling multiple billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation grew from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty