Ex- VP Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Impactful Political Career

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as one of the most powerful holders of that office in US history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous power during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly called as the "real president".

Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a team because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.

A Aftermath of 9/11

Leading of a group of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction 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 meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any unidentified aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney said the attacks changed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Debated Decisions

He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation 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 proper decision. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I believed it then and I maintain that stance now."

But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memo setting out circumstances in which American interests might be threatened (including "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush additionally had arrived in the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.

Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his parent's face that everyone had to tread upon.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of interrogation method and torture.

Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."

External Perception

Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his hole? This represents a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."

Commercial Ties

Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company grew from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty