Ex- Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Influential Political Career

The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While numerous vice-presidents were confined to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised huge power during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "actual president".

Bush disliked such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.

A Aftermath of 9/11

Leading of a group of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention 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 meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any non-communicating planes heading toward the government building.

Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Disputed Policies

He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance today."

Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a document detailing circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.

Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his father's face that everyone had to tread upon.

Interrogation Methods

But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were whether thin or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.

Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."

External Perception

Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I 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 followed him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and CEO.

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

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty