One-time VP Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Impactful Political Career

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most influential occupants of that position in American history. While countless VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised huge power during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".

Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always calling him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.

The Aftermath of 9/11

At the head of a group of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the shooting down of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney said the attacks changed him, causing him to be determined on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Debated Actions

He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do then. I believed it back then and I maintain that stance today."

However even then, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a document outlining situations in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly citing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush additionally had arrived in the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.

Investigation Approaches

However it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating striking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were both thin or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.

Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the findings as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to catch the individuals who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."

External Perception

Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a dark force manipulating Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his domain? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."

Business Interests

Debate over his commercial relationships followed him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth billions.

It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his $258,394 during his time as defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty