Former VP Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on the Influential Government Service

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas numerous VPs were confined to marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney exercised substantial power during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was often described as the "real president".

Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it indicated that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of policy decisions.

The Aftermath of 9/11

At the head of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unidentified planes heading toward the Capitol building.

Cheney said the attacks changed him, leading him to become focused on retribution. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Policies

He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I believed it then and I hold that view today."

However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and corruption."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memo outlining circumstances in which US concerns might be threatened (encompassing "availability of vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly mentioning military moves against Iraq.

Bush additionally had entered the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of reducing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's face that each person had to walk over.

Investigation Approaches

But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were either thin or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.

Answering a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to catch the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of praise."

External Perception

Cheney reveled in labels assigned to him by opponents such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? It's a advantageous way to function, truthfully."

Corporate Connections

Debate over his corporate affiliations followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in commerce but established relationships in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

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

It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his time at the firm rose from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth more than $20m|twenty