Ex- VP Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Influential Time in Office

The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered among the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas countless VPs had to settle for minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney wielded huge power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "actual president".

Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably referring to him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.

The Aftermath of 9/11

In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the shooting down of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the strikes altered his perspective, making him become intent on revenge. Together with other neo-cons, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Policies

He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance today."

But during that period, there were opposing views 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 dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.

Bush additionally had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.

Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to walk over.

Investigation Approaches

However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were whether thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.

Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen emerge from his hole? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."

Business Interests

Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements valued at multiple billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his time at the corporation grew from his $258,394 when he was military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty