Former Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Influential Political Career

The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful holders of that office in American history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always referring to him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.

A Post-9/11 Era

Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.

Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize 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 invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the correct action to do then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."

Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a document outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (including "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.

Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were whether insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.

Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."

Public Image

Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his domain? That is a nice way to function, truthfully."

Commercial Ties

Dispute over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at substantial sums.

It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the company increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling in excess of $20m|twenty