Former VP Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on His Impactful Time in Office

The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most powerful occupants of that position in US history. Although numerous vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly described as the "real president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public settings as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president malleable on a broad range of policy decisions.

A Post-9/11 Era

At the head of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the government building.

Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Disputed Policies

He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."

However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush additionally had assumed the White House generally inclined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's countenance that everyone had to tread upon.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, frequently referencing agency briefings that were whether thin or completely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.

Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."

Public Persona

Cheney took pleasure in nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion 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 reported as stating: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to function, in fact."

Business Interests

Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals totaling multiple billions.

It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the firm increased from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at over $20m|twenty