Ex- Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Impactful Political Career

The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of that office in US history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney held enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".

Bush objected to that description and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.

A Period Following the Attacks

Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes heading toward the government building.

Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Actions

He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I believed it back then and I hold that view today."

But even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (including "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.

Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to kill his parent, 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 image of his predecessor's face that each person had to step on.

Questioning Techniques

However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly quoting information documents that were both insubstantial or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.

Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 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 praise."

External Perception

Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees leave his lair? That is a nice way to function, actually."

Corporate Connections

Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements worth billions.

It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty