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

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".

Bush objected to such a characterisation and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.

A Post-9/11 Era

In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the Capitol building.

Cheney said the assaults transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Controversial Policies

He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I hold that view now."

However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and graft."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memo setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.

Questioning Techniques

However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were whether weak or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.

Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place initiatives to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."

Public Persona

Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen come out of his hole? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his business interests followed him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at multiple billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation grew from his previous salary while military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty