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

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most influential holders of that position in American history. Although numerous VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "real president".

Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.

A Post-9/11 Era

In charge of a contingent of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive planes heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Disputed Actions

He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance now."

However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memo detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.

Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to step on.

Interrogation Methods

But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.

Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the duo, 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 leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to operate, actually."

Commercial Ties

Controversy over his business interests followed him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling substantial sums.

It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty