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

The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful holders of that office in American history. Whereas many VPs were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".

Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.

A Aftermath of 9/11

In charge of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.

Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Policies

He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the correct action to do back then. I was convinced then and I believe it now."

However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush too had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.

Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's visage that each person had to step on.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were whether weak or entirely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.

Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his hole? That is a advantageous way to work, actually."

Business Interests

Dispute over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm grew from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty