Former Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Powerful Government Service

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. While many second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".

Bush resented that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.

A Post-9/11 Era

At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the government building.

Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Policies

He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it today."

Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and graft."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out situations in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.

Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to step on.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement behind invading Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were either thin or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.

Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 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 recognition."

External Perception

Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly come out of his lair? It's a nice way to operate, in fact."

Corporate Connections

Debate over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty