Ex- VP Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Impactful Political Career

The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant holders of that office in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "true president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.

A Aftermath of 9/11

Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion 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 participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the US Capitol.

Cheney said the strikes transformed him, making him become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Disputed Decisions

He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I believe it now."

However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memorandum setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush additionally had entered the White House generally inclined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed 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 intention of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.

Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to tread upon.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were whether weak or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.

Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."

Public Image

Cheney reveled in monikers assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing 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 nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a nice way to work, truthfully."

Commercial Ties

Dispute over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.

It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty