One-time Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Powerful Political Career

The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas many VPs were confined to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney held enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "actual president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public settings as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.

A Period Following the Attacks

Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the US Capitol.

Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Controversial Decisions

He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view presently."

But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a memo outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, 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 Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's countenance that all visitors had to walk over.

Investigation Approaches

Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush administration politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.

Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his hole? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."

Business Interests

Dispute over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars while military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty