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

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas countless second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "actual president".

Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.

A Post-9/11 Era

In charge of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command 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 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Debated Policies

He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance presently."

But even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.

Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, 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 surface artwork with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to walk over.

Questioning Techniques

Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were both weak or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.

Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."

External Perception

Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."

Business Interests

Dispute over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

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

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty