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

The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. Although many vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "actual president".

Bush resented this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of administrative determinations.

The Aftermath of 9/11

At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unresponsive planes approaching the Capitol building.

Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Debated Decisions

He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on inaccurate reports echoed by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance today."

Yet even then, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a memo setting out situations in which US concerns might be threatened (including "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically referencing military moves against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.

Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.

Interrogation Methods

However it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were whether thin or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and physical pressure.

Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create programmes to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."

External Perception

Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker'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 evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? It's a advantageous way to work, truthfully."

Commercial Ties

Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.

It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company grew from his previous salary during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty