Ex- VP Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Impactful Political Career

The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. Whereas countless second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney held enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".

Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.

A Post-9/11 Era

Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the government building.

Cheney stated the assaults changed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Disputed Policies

He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view presently."

However even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, unfitness, and graft."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memo outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to step on.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were whether thin or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.

Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."

Commercial Ties

Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling multiple billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the corporation increased from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty