Former Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Influential Political Career

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in American history. Although many second-in-commands were limited to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "true president".

Bush objected to that description and stated the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it indicated that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.

The Post-9/11 Era

Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft nearing the government building.

Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, making him become intent on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Controversial Decisions

He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I hold that view now."

However even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.

Questioning Techniques

Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.

Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to catch the bastards 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 praise."

Public Persona

Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist'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 evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees leave his domain? It's a nice way to work, actually."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him through his period as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at substantial sums.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars while defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty