One-time Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Influential Government Service

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "actual president".

Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.

The Aftermath of 9/11

Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unidentified aircraft approaching the government building.

Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Disputed Actions

He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I believed it then and I hold that view now."

But even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and graft."

Broader Context

Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.

Investigation Approaches

However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were either insubstantial or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.

Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his hole? It's a nice way to work, actually."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had limited background in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals worth multiple billions.

It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty