One-time VP Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Powerful Political Career

The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Although numerous vice-presidents were confined to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised substantial power during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".

Bush resented that description and claimed the connection was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were equals. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of governmental choices.

The Aftermath of 9/11

At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the downing of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the Capitol building.

Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Together with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Controversial Actions

He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on inaccurate reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."

Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and graft."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had drafted a document outlining situations in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action prove impossible," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush too had entered the White House vaguely intent on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Following he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his plan of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.

Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's countenance that each person had to walk over.

Investigation Approaches

But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting invading Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were whether thin or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the use of simulated drowning and torture.

Answering a Senate report in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."

External Perception

Cheney took pleasure in labels given to him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? That is a effective way to operate, in fact."

Commercial Ties

Controversy over his business interests accompanied him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had limited background in commerce but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements worth substantial sums.

It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth over $20m|twenty