One-time VP Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on His Impactful Political Career

The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant occupants of that position in the nation's history. While numerous second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "actual president".

Bush disliked that description and claimed the relationship was more complex. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.

A Period Following the Attacks

In charge of a faction of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time 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 assumed control, directing the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the government building.

Cheney said the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Disputed Decisions

He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it presently."

But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (including "access to vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush additionally had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.

Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his parent's countenance that each person had to step on.

Investigation Approaches

Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, consistently referencing information documents that were either weak or totally misleading. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.

Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."

Public Image

Cheney reveled in labels imposed on him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to operate, in fact."

Corporate Connections

Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at multiple billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty