Ex- VP Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on the Impactful Political Career

The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While many second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "real president".

Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public settings as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it indicated that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.

A Aftermath of 9/11

Leading of a faction of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified airplanes nearing the Capitol building.

Cheney said the assaults changed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Debated Actions

He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading reports echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it today."

But even at the time, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he wrote later "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: at worst, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum detailing circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush additionally had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's visage that everyone had to walk over.

Questioning Techniques

Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were whether weak or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.

Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."

Public Persona

Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by critics such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly come out of his domain? That is a nice way to function, truthfully."

Business Interests

Debate over his business interests pursued him through his period as second-in-command. While he had little experience in corporate affairs but good contacts in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas companies, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.

In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements totaling multiple billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his previous salary while defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty