Former Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on His Powerful Political Career

The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas many VPs were confined to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney held enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".

Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.

A Period Following the Attacks

Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion 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 participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the government building.

Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Controversial Policies

He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty information echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance now."

However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: at worst, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memorandum setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.

Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his parent's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.

Investigation Approaches

But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either thin or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.

Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."

External Perception

Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen emerge from his hole? That is a nice way to work, truthfully."

Commercial Ties

Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him during his tenure as VP. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements worth billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty