Former Vice-President Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Influential Time in Office

The late US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most significant incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Whereas many VPs were limited to marginal or symbolic positions, Cheney held substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".

Bush objected to that description and stated the connection was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably calling him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.

A Post-9/11 Era

At the head of a faction of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 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. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the US Capitol.

Cheney said the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Policies

He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the waterboarding of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I believed it at the time and I maintain that stance now."

However even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, incompetence, and corruption."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a document outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (including "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," particularly mentioning defense operations against Iraq.

Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on executing what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and suggested military action against Iraq.

Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to step on.

Questioning Techniques

However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting attacking Iraq, consistently citing agency briefings that were either weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and physical pressure.

Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to take steps and establish programmes to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."

Public Image

Cheney reveled in monikers imposed on him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? This represents a advantageous way to work, truthfully."

Corporate Connections

Dispute over his business interests accompanied him through his period as VP. While he had limited background in business but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US deals valued at multiple billions.

It made him rich. His annual income during his period at the company increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement valued at over $20m|twenty