Former VP Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on His Influential Political Career

The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Although numerous VPs had to settle for peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".

Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a wide array of governmental choices.

A Aftermath of 9/11

At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the US Capitol.

Cheney said the assaults changed him, making him become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Controversial Policies

He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the proper decision to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it today."

However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (including "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly referencing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.

Interrogation Methods

But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were both thin or totally misleading. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and physical pressure.

Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."

Public Persona

Cheney reveled in monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his domain? That is a nice way to operate, truthfully."

Corporate Connections

Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling multiple billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm rose from his $258,394 while military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty