One-time VP Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on the Influential Political Career

The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of that office in American history. Whereas numerous VPs had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "true president".

Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, always addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.

A Aftermath of 9/11

In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unresponsive planes heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, making him become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Policies

He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading information echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."

Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.

Bush additionally had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.

Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.

Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."

Public Persona

Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? It's a nice way to function, actually."

Business Interests

Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in business but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the company grew from his $258,394 when he was military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at more than $20m|twenty