Former Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Impactful Political Career

The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. Although numerous vice-presidents had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "real president".

Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.

The Aftermath of 9/11

At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the US Capitol.

Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Debated Policies

He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it now."

However even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, incompetence, and graft."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a document detailing circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (including "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired 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 announced his intention of reducing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's visage that each person had to walk over.

Investigation Approaches

Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were whether insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.

Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."

Public Persona

Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? It's a effective way to work, truthfully."

Business Interests

Dispute over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals valued at multiple billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the corporation grew from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty