Ex- Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Impactful Government Service

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in US history. While many second-in-commands were confined to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "real president".

Bush objected to that description and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.

A Period Following the Attacks

Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.

Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Controversial Policies

He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance now."

But even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."

Broader Context

Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memo detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to tread upon.

Interrogation Methods

However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either insubstantial or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.

Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."

External Perception

Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a effective way to work, actually."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in business but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty