Ex- VP Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Powerful Political Career

The late US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous VPs were limited to minor or figurehead roles, Cheney held enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".

Bush resented this portrayal and stated the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.

A Post-9/11 Era

Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.

Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Debated Policies

He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."

But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memo setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (including "access to vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action prove impossible," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.

Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.

Interrogation Methods

However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken advocating striking Iraq, consistently quoting information documents that were either thin or entirely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of waterboarding and torture.

Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."

Public Image

Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power 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: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the background that operates invisibly come out of his hole? It's a effective way to work, actually."

Commercial Ties

Dispute over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling substantial sums.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty