Former VP Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on His Impactful Government Service

The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential holders of that position in American history. Although countless second-in-commands were limited to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised huge influence during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "real president".

Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.

A Post-9/11 Era

In charge of a group of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the government building.

Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Decisions

He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the right thing to do at that time. I had faith then and I believe it presently."

But even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and corruption."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the White House somewhat determined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to walk over.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were both thin or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.

Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? That is a nice way to work, truthfully."

Corporate Connections

Dispute over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements totaling billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his period at the firm grew from his $258,394 while defence secretary to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty