One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Influential Time in Office

The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. While numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "true president".

Bush objected to that description and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.

The Aftermath of 9/11

At the head of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.

Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied 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 little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Actions

He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I believed it then and I maintain that stance now."

But even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and graft."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.

Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.

Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."

Public Image

Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? That is a effective way to function, in fact."

Commercial Ties

Controversy over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in business but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements valued at billions.

It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation increased from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty