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

The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful occupants of that office in the nation's history. While countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly described as the "true president".

Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.

A Aftermath of 9/11

In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Controversial Decisions

He showed no remorse about the military campaign, 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 invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I hold that view today."

Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memo outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush additionally had arrived in the White House generally inclined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.

Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were both weak or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.

Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."

External Perception

Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his lair? This represents a effective way to function, in fact."

Commercial Ties

Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.

It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty