Ex- Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Impactful Government Service

The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas many VPs had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "true president".

Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.

A Post-9/11 Era

Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the government building.

Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, making him become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Debated Policies

He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it today."

However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum setting out situations in which American interests might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.

Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.

Interrogation Methods

But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were either insubstantial or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.

Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his domain? It's a effective way to work, truthfully."

Business Interests

Debate over his business interests followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts valued at multiple billions.

It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty