One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Influential Government Service

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".

Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.

A Period Following the Attacks

At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted 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 participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the government building.

Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Policies

He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance presently."

However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and corruption."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.

Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to step on.

Investigation Approaches

However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were either insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.

Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to capture the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? It's a nice way to work, in fact."

Commercial Ties

Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling substantial sums.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the corporation grew from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty