Ex- Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Influential Political Career

The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Whereas countless vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney held enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".

Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.

A Period Following the Attacks

At the head of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unidentified airplanes heading toward the government building.

Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, making him become intent on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Debated Policies

He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I had faith then and I maintain that stance presently."

Yet during that period, there were opposing views at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum detailing situations in which American interests might be endangered (including "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the White House generally inclined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.

Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's visage that all visitors had to step on.

Investigation Approaches

However it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind striking Iraq, frequently referencing intelligence reports that were both insubstantial or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.

Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of recognition."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that remains unseen come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to operate, truthfully."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had minimal expertise in commerce but strong connections in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.

It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the firm increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty