Ex- VP Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Impactful Time in Office

The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas numerous vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "real president".

Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the connection was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of governmental choices.

The Post-9/11 Era

Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a session at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes approaching the Capitol building.

Cheney stated the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Actions

He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance presently."

But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had written a memo setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (encompassing "availability of crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," particularly referencing military moves against Iraq.

Bush additionally had assumed the White House generally inclined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of lowering America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that everyone had to step on.

Questioning Techniques

Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.

Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees leave his lair? That is a effective way to function, actually."

Business Interests

Debate over his business interests pursued him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.

It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his tenure at the company grew from his quarter-million dollars while Pentagon chief to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty