One-time VP Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on the Powerful Government Service

The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most significant occupants of that office in US history. While countless vice-presidents were confined to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "actual president".

Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the connection was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their association as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.

The Post-9/11 Era

In charge of a contingent of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the Capitol building.

Cheney stated the strikes changed him, making him become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Controversial Policies

He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the right thing to do then. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance today."

However during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memo detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (including "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's countenance that each person had to walk over.

Investigation Approaches

However it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were whether thin or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and torture.

Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to capture the individuals who took the lives of 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."

External Perception

Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating 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: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a effective way to operate, truthfully."

Commercial Ties

Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts valued at substantial sums.

It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty