Ex- VP Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Impactful Government Service

The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "true president".

Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a whole raft of policy decisions.

The Aftermath of 9/11

At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unresponsive planes nearing the Capitol building.

Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Decisions

He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the right thing to do back then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance now."

Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior 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 post. "I saw, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, incompetence, and dishonesty."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush too had arrived in the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed 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 declared his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted military action against Iraq.

Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate 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 ground design with a likeness of his father's visage that everyone had to walk over.

Investigation Approaches

Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.

Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to capture the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."

External Perception

Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees leave his lair? That is a nice way to operate, in fact."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had little experience in commerce but established relationships in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Contentiously, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth multiple billions.

It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company rose from his $258,394 when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty