Former Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Impactful Political Career

The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While many VPs were confined to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "true president".

Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of administrative determinations.

The Aftermath of 9/11

At the head of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the government building.

Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Controversial Actions

He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I had faith back then and I hold that view now."

But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, incompetence, and corruption."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a document outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "availability of vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically mentioning armed actions against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.

Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's face that each person had to step on.

Investigation Approaches

But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were either thin or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.

Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed 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 shadow power controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, actually."

Commercial Ties

Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm rose from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty