One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Impactful Time in Office

The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas numerous second-in-commands were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "real president".

Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a team because it implied that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.

A Aftermath of 9/11

In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the Capitol building.

Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Disputed Decisions

He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance today."

But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's countenance that all visitors had to step on.

Questioning Techniques

Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.

Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly leave his lair? That is a nice way to function, truthfully."

Corporate Connections

Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as VP. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.

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

It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty