Ex- Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on the Powerful Time in Office

The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most significant holders of that office in American history. Whereas numerous VPs had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "actual president".

Bush resented this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.

The Period Following the Attacks

At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Debated Decisions

He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the right thing to do then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance now."

Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level 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 position. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.

Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of credit."

Public Persona

Cheney reveled in labels given to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a nice way to work, actually."

Corporate Connections

Dispute over his business interests accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.

In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty