Ex- VP Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Powerful Government Service

The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was considered one of the most influential occupants of that office in the nation's history. Whereas countless VPs had to settle for marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised substantial sway during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often referred to as the "actual president".

Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, always addressing him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a broad range of governmental choices.

A Post-9/11 Era

At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes 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. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes nearing the Capitol building.

Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Controversial Policies

He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I believe it today."

Yet during that period, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and corruption."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be endangered (including "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.

Bush too had arrived in the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested defense operations against Iraq.

Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to walk over.

Interrogation Methods

However it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the employment of waterboarding and torture.

Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the background that remains unseen leave his hole? It's a nice way to operate, actually."

Commercial Ties

Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and CEO.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at substantial sums.

It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the firm increased from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package worth over $20m|twenty