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

The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant holders of that position in the nation's history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to peripheral or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".

Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.

A Aftermath of 9/11

Leading of a group of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the government building.

Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Debated Actions

He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I had faith back then and I believe it now."

But even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memo setting out situations in which American interests might be compromised (including "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were either weak or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and torture.

Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."

Public Persona

Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating 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 evil genius in the background that remains unseen leave his domain? That is a effective way to operate, truthfully."

Commercial Ties

Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals worth substantial sums.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary while defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty