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

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of that office in US history. Although numerous VPs had to settle for marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was commonly called as the "actual president".

Bush objected to such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.

A Post-9/11 Era

In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney said the strikes changed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Debated Decisions

He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the right thing to do then. I believed it back then and I hold that view today."

Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had written a memorandum setting out scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to tread upon.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, consistently quoting agency briefings that were whether thin or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush government politely called as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.

Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the torture, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create procedures to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence directing Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen leave his hole? It's a advantageous way to work, actually."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and top executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling billions.

It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the company rose from his $258,394 during his time as military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package worth in excess of $20m|twenty