Ex- Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Impactful Time in Office

The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential occupants of that office in US history. While countless VPs had to settle for minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney wielded huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".

Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in official appearances as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.

A Period Following the Attacks

Leading of a group of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be determined on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Debated Actions

He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced then and I hold that view presently."

But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had composed a memo detailing circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the White House generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.

Interrogation Methods

But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing agency briefings that were either weak or completely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and torture.

Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create procedures to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."

Public Persona

Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his domain? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."

Commercial Ties

Debate over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and top executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts totaling multiple billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty