One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Powerful Political Career

The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered among the most influential holders of that position in American history. Although numerous VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "actual president".

Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.

A Aftermath of 9/11

Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion 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 attending a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the government building.

Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Debated Policies

He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I had faith then and I believe it presently."

But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and graft."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a document setting out circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (including "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.

Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's face that everyone had to walk over.

Investigation Approaches

But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were both thin or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.

Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney reveled in nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to work, truthfully."

Commercial Ties

Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth substantial sums.

It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty