One-time Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Impactful Government Service

The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant holders of that position in US history. Whereas many second-in-commands were limited to minor or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".

Bush disliked such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was deferential, consistently referring to him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a wide array of policy decisions.

The Period Following the Attacks

In charge of a group of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating planes nearing the US Capitol.

Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, making him become focused on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied 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 being involved.

Debated Policies

He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate information echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the proper decision to do then. I believed it then and I hold that view today."

Yet even at the time, 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 not retained from the position. "I observed, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, lying, unfitness, and corruption."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing situations in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.

Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.

Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's visage that all visitors had to step on.

Questioning Techniques

However it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were both insubstantial or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.

Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no valuable data had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."

Public Persona

Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that operates invisibly leave his lair? This represents a nice way to function, truthfully."

Corporate Connections

Dispute over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.

In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the firm grew from his previous salary during his time as Pentagon chief to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty