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

The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. Although many second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "true president".

Bush objected to this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.

The Aftermath of 9/11

At the head of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Disputed Decisions

He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on misleading information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the correct action to do back then. I was convinced then and I hold that view now."

Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a document setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.

Bush also had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's countenance that each person had to tread upon.

Investigation Approaches

But it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.

Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."

External Perception

Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain 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 remains unseen emerge from his lair? It's a effective way to function, in fact."

Commercial Ties

Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as VP. Even though he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.

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

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty