Ex- Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Impactful Political Career

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered arguably the most influential holders of that position in US history. While numerous VPs had to settle for marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded huge power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often referred to as the "actual president".

Bush resented that description and claimed the connection was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always addressing him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were peers. Despite such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.

The Period Following the Attacks

Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the downing of any unresponsive aircraft heading toward the Capitol building.

Cheney said the attacks transformed him, making him become determined on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Actions

He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty information repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith at the time and I hold that view now."

But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had composed a document setting out scenarios in which US concerns might be compromised (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired 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 announced his plan of diminishing America's participation in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.

Bush carried a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's visage that each person had to tread upon.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous behind invading Iraq, frequently referencing information documents that were whether thin or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "intensive questioning", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.

Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the interrogation methods, Cheney dismissed the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and establish programmes to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his lair? It's a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."

Business Interests

Debate over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at multiple billions.

It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at over $20m|twenty