One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on the Impactful Political Career

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most influential holders of that position in the nation's history. Although countless VPs had to settle for minor or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often described as the "actual president".

Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.

A Aftermath of 9/11

At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the Capitol building.

Cheney said the attacks changed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Policies

He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it presently."

However even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (including "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.

Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.

Investigation Approaches

But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.

Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? It's a nice way to function, truthfully."

Business Interests

Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements worth multiple billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the corporation rose from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty