Former VP Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on the Powerful Government Service

The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most powerful incumbents of that office in American history. Although numerous vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney exercised substantial influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently described as the "real president".

Bush objected to such a characterisation and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.

The Period Following the Attacks

Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any unresponsive airplanes nearing the government building.

Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, leading him to become intent on retaliation. Along with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Debated Policies

He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance presently."

Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a senior level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I saw, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested defense operations against Iraq.

Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind striking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He supported what the Bush White House politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the use of simulated drowning and torture.

Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the report as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to capture the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly come out of his hole? That is a advantageous way to operate, actually."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his corporate affiliations followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling over $20m|twenty