One-time Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on His Influential Political Career

The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered among the most significant incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney held substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "true president".

Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the laidback president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.

A Period Following the Attacks

In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unidentified aircraft approaching the Capitol building.

Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Policies

He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance presently."

However during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.

Bush too had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.

Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's countenance that everyone had to walk over.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and torture.

Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."

Public Persona

Cheney reveled in labels given to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to work, actually."

Commercial Ties

Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, 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 became Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements worth multiple billions.

It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty