One-time VP Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on His Impactful Political Career

The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as among the most influential holders of that office in American history. While numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "actual president".

Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.

The Period Following the Attacks

Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.

Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Debated Actions

He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I believed it then and I hold that view today."

But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memo outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.

Bush also had arrived in the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to walk over.

Questioning Techniques

Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either thin or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.

Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen emerge from his domain? This represents a effective way to work, in fact."

Corporate Connections

Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as VP. Although he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts worth billions.

It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation rose from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty