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

The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Although countless VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "true president".

Bush resented that description and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.

The Period Following the Attacks

At the head of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the Capitol building.

Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Debated Policies

He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed 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 at that time. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."

However even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had composed a document outlining scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.

Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to walk over.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and torture.

Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."

Public Image

Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."

Business Interests

Debate over his business interests followed him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background 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 biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at multiple billions.

It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty