Former VP Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on the Powerful Political Career

The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most powerful holders of that office in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents were limited to peripheral or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "true president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a whole raft of policy decisions.

The Aftermath of 9/11

At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft approaching the government building.

Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Disputed Decisions

He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance presently."

But even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had composed a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the Oval Office vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.

Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's countenance that each person had to tread upon.

Investigation Approaches

But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken advocating invading Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were whether thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.

Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."

Public Persona

Cheney enjoyed nicknames imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that operates invisibly leave his domain? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."

Business Interests

Controversy over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth multiple billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty