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

The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that position in American history. Whereas numerous VPs had to settle for minor or symbolic functions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "real president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and said the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their association as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.

A Period Following the Attacks

Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the US Capitol.

Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, making him become determined on retaliation. Along 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 vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Decisions

He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of individuals captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I believed it then and I hold that view today."

However even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a document detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (including "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to walk over.

Investigation Approaches

However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were either thin or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.

Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."

External Perception

Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his domain? That is a advantageous way to work, actually."

Business Interests

Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling substantial sums.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the company increased from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty