Ex- Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on His Influential Government Service

The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas countless VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".

Bush disliked that description and said the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.

A Period Following the Attacks

Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the Capitol building.

Cheney said the strikes changed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Actions

He expressed no regrets about the invasion, 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 predicated on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."

But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memo setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (including "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on implementing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.

Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's countenance that all visitors had to step on.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were whether thin or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of interrogation method and torture.

Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to capture the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."

Public Persona

Cheney reveled in nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing 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: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a effective way to operate, truthfully."

Corporate Connections

Dispute over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as VP. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.

In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation grew from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty