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

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of that position in American history. Although numerous second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and said the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.

The Aftermath of 9/11

Leading of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the US Capitol.

Cheney stated the strikes changed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Controversial Actions

He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I hold that view presently."

Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "access to essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.

Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his parent's visage that everyone had to tread upon.

Investigation Approaches

However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or totally misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and torture.

Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."

Public Persona

Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to function, actually."

Corporate Connections

Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling substantial sums.

It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty