Ex- Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Influential Time in Office

The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was regarded as among the most significant incumbents of that position in the nation's history. While countless second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or figurehead positions, Cheney held enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "real president".

Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the dynamic was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was respectful, always referring to him in public settings as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of governmental choices.

A Period Following the Attacks

Leading of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the assaults altered his perspective, leading him to become determined on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Debated Decisions

He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the waterboarding of detainees apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It represented the correct action to do back then. I had faith then and I hold that view today."

However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and irresponsibility: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memorandum setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "access to vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be positioned to operate alone when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.

Bush additionally had arrived in the White House generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.

Bush held a individual resentment against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a plot to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to tread upon.

Investigation Approaches

Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, frequently quoting agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of waterboarding and torture.

Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen leave his domain? It's a effective way to operate, in fact."

Commercial Ties

Controversy over his corporate affiliations pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had little experience in commerce but strong connections in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US deals valued at billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation increased from his $258,394 while defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty