One-time Vice-President Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Impactful Government Service

The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as among the most significant holders of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "actual president".

Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.

A Period Following the Attacks

At the head of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the Capitol building.

Cheney stated the assaults changed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Policies

He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I was convinced then and I believe it today."

But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a document outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.

Interrogation Methods

But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were whether thin or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.

Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, 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 shadows that operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a nice way to function, truthfully."

Corporate Connections

Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in business but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at billions.

It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty