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

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Whereas many vice-presidents had to settle for marginal or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised huge power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".

Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the connection was more complex. 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 team because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.

A Post-9/11 Era

At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any unidentified planes approaching the government building.

Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Debated Policies

He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I maintain that stance today."

However during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, lying, incompetence, and graft."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush too had entered the presidency somewhat determined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed 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 participation in the Middle East dispute and proposed defense operations against Iraq.

Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.

Questioning Techniques

Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.

Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of credit."

Public Persona

Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? That is a effective way to operate, actually."

Commercial Ties

Debate over his corporate affiliations pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in business but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his time at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars while military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling over $20m|twenty