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

The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. While countless second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "real president".

Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.

The Post-9/11 Era

In charge of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head 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. During 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 shooting down of any unidentified planes nearing the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, making him become intent on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Debated Decisions

He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view today."

Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush additionally had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.

Investigation Approaches

Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.

Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."

External Perception

Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a nice way to work, truthfully."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his business interests accompanied him through his period as VP. Even though he had little experience in business but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.

It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his $258,394 while military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty