One-time VP Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Impactful Time in Office

The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. While numerous vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".

Bush disliked that description and said the relationship was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was respectful, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.

The Aftermath of 9/11

In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the government building.

Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, making him become focused on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Debated Decisions

He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I believe it now."

But even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."

Broader Context

Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had composed a document outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.

Bush additionally had arrived in the White House generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to tread upon.

Interrogation Methods

However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating attacking Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were either insubstantial or entirely inaccurate. He supported what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.

Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to apprehend 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 deserve a lot of recognition."

External Perception

Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book 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 remains unseen leave his lair? That is a advantageous way to operate, in fact."

Business Interests

Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as VP. Although he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US deals worth billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty