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

The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of that position in the nation's history. Although countless VPs were limited to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney held enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.

A Aftermath of 9/11

Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.

Cheney said the attacks changed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Debated Decisions

He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do then. I was convinced then and I hold that view now."

Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."

Broader Context

Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush also had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.

Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to tread upon.

Investigation Approaches

However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were whether thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.

Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create initiatives to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."

Public Persona

Cheney took pleasure in labels assigned to him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, in fact."

Commercial Ties

Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling multiple billions.

It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty