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

The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential occupants of that office in American history. While many VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and said the relationship was more complex. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.

The Post-9/11 Era

In charge of a group of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, making him become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Debated Actions

He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the correct action to do back then. I believed it then and I believe it presently."

Yet even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.

Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.

Investigation Approaches

Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were either weak or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and torture.

Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."

Public Persona

Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees leave his lair? It's a nice way to function, in fact."

Commercial Ties

Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had little experience in business but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.

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

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company grew from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty