Ex- VP Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Impactful Time in Office

The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful holders of that office in American history. Whereas many second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often described as the "real president".

Bush objected to that description and claimed the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president pliable on a whole raft of governmental choices.

A Post-9/11 Era

Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the downing of any non-communicating aircraft approaching the government building.

Cheney stated the attacks transformed him, causing him to be intent on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Policies

He showed no remorse about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading reports repeated by Cheney, was the proper course of action. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith at the time and I believe it presently."

But even then, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum outlining scenarios in which US concerns might be threatened (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when cooperative measures cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a plot to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.

Interrogation Methods

However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing agency briefings that were both insubstantial or completely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.

Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish programmes to capture the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."

Public Persona

Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that remains unseen leave his lair? This represents a effective way to work, in fact."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had little experience in business but established relationships in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US contracts worth substantial sums.

It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the company increased from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling more than $20m|twenty