Former Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on the Influential Government Service

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that office in American history. Although numerous VPs were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".

Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.

A Aftermath of 9/11

In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the US Capitol.

Cheney said the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Decisions

He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it back then and I believe it today."

However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level 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 position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a memorandum detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.

Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."

Public Persona

Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his hole? That is a nice way to work, truthfully."

Commercial Ties

Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in business but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty