Former Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Impactful Government Service

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While many VPs were limited to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "real president".

Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.

The Post-9/11 Era

Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Decisions

He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance now."

But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which national priorities might be threatened (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked 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 stated his objective of lowering America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.

Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to tread upon.

Investigation Approaches

Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.

Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."

Public Persona

Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly leave his hole? That is a advantageous way to function, in fact."

Corporate Connections

Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.

It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm rose from his previous salary when he was military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty