Ex- VP Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Powerful Government Service

The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential occupants of that position in American history. Whereas many vice-presidents were confined to marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "true president".

Bush disliked that description and stated the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.

The Period Following the Attacks

In charge of a faction of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the Capitol building.

Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, making him become determined on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Decisions

He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."

Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a document detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," particularly citing military moves against Iraq.

Bush also had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that each person had to step on.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing information documents that were either insubstantial or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.

Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."

Public Persona

Cheney reveled in labels given to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept 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 cited as commenting: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen leave his lair? That is a nice way to operate, in fact."

Corporate Connections

Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling substantial sums.

It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the company rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty