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

The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. While numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently described as the "actual president".

Bush disliked that description and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.

A Aftermath of 9/11

Leading of a faction of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.

Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Controversial Policies

He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I was convinced then and I hold that view today."

However even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: at worst, deception, incompetence, and corruption."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a document detailing situations in which national priorities might be endangered (including "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.

Bush also had assumed the White House somewhat determined on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.

Interrogation Methods

However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were either weak or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.

Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."

External Perception

Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? It's a nice way to work, in fact."

Business Interests

Debate over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had limited background in business but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at multiple billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty