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

The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant incumbents of that office in US history. While numerous VPs were confined to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "true president".

Bush resented that description and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.

A Period Following the Attacks

At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes approaching the US Capitol.

Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Decisions

He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it now."

But even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and graft."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memorandum outlining circumstances in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush also had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that everyone had to walk over.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were both weak or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of waterboarding and torture.

Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to catch the perpetrators who killed 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 praise."

External Perception

Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly leave his lair? It's a nice way to function, truthfully."

Business Interests

Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.

In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling substantial sums.

It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the company grew from his $258,394 while military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty