Ex- VP Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Powerful Time in Office

The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. Whereas many VPs were confined to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".

Bush objected to that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.

A Post-9/11 Era

Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the government building.

Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Controversial Policies

He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the correct action to do then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."

Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and graft."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a document outlining situations in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.

Bush also had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.

Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's countenance that all visitors had to step on.

Investigation Approaches

Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were whether thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.

Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating 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: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to function, truthfully."

Business Interests

Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as VP. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty