Former Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Influential Political Career

The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of that office in US history. While numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney held enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "real president".

Bush resented that description and said the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.

A Post-9/11 Era

In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the government building.

Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Decisions

He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I believed it back then and I hold that view now."

But even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to tread upon.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were whether thin or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and physical pressure.

Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."

Public Persona

Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his business interests followed him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty