Former VP Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Influential Time in Office

The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential holders of that position in American history. While numerous second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".

Bush objected to that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.

The Aftermath of 9/11

Leading of a group of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unidentified planes approaching the government building.

Cheney said the strikes changed him, making him become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Policies

He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the correct action to do back then. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."

But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and graft."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memo detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.

Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.

Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.

Questioning Techniques

However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.

Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."

Public Persona

Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his domain? That is a nice way to function, actually."

Business Interests

Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm grew from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty