Former Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Influential Government Service

The deceased US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most significant holders of that office in the nation's history. Whereas countless vice-presidents were limited to minor or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded huge sway during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently described as the "true president".

Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even portrayals of their relationship as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney found the laidback president malleable on a broad range of administrative determinations.

The Period Following the Attacks

At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating planes heading toward the government building.

Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, leading him to become focused on retaliation. Together with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Policies

He voiced no apologies about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It represented the correct action to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I believe it presently."

Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the administration's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I saw, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, negligence, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and dishonesty."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had written a memorandum detailing situations in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to act independently when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush too had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted defense operations against Iraq.

Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's visage that everyone had to walk over.

Investigation Approaches

But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either thin or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.

Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and establish initiatives to catch the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."

Public Image

Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book 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 come out of his hole? That is a advantageous way to operate, truthfully."

Commercial Ties

Controversy over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US contracts totaling billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty