One-time Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on His Influential Political Career

The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas countless VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "true president".

Bush resented that description and said the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.

A Post-9/11 Era

In charge of a group of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.

Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Disputed Actions

He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the correct action to do then. I believed it back then and I hold that view today."

But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, incompetence, and graft."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning military moves against Iraq.

Bush additionally had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to step on.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were either weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.

Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."

Public Persona

Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, actually."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty