Former Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Impactful Time in Office

The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered among the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were confined to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "real president".

Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.

A Post-9/11 Era

At the head of a faction of neo-cons that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes approaching the government building.

Cheney said the assaults transformed him, making him become intent on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Disputed Policies

He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance today."

But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush additionally had entered the presidency generally inclined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to step on.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were whether weak or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.

Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."

External Perception

Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to work, in fact."

Commercial Ties

Debate over his corporate affiliations accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth substantial sums.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty