Former Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on the Powerful Government Service

The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant holders of that position in US history. Although countless vice-presidents were confined to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently called as the "real president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and said the relationship was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public settings as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these objections, Cheney found the relaxed president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.

The Post-9/11 Era

Leading of a contingent of neo-conservatives that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any unidentified aircraft nearing the Capitol building.

Cheney said the assaults changed him, making him become focused on retaliation. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Disputed Policies

He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."

But during that period, there were dissenting voices at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, negligence, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his predecessor's countenance that each person had to walk over.

Investigation Approaches

However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, repeatedly quoting intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and harsh treatment.

Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the report as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."

Public Persona

Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? This represents a nice way to function, actually."

Corporate Connections

Debate over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in commerce but good contacts in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy corporations, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US deals totaling multiple billions.

It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty