One-time VP Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Powerful Political Career

The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to minor or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "true president".

Bush resented this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently referring to him in official appearances as President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Despite these objections, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of administrative determinations.

A Post-9/11 Era

Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the government building.

Cheney said the strikes transformed him, causing him to be focused on retaliation. Together with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Debated Policies

He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the right thing to do back then. I had faith at the time and I maintain that stance presently."

Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the position. "I witnessed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and unaccountability: at worst, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had composed a memo setting out circumstances in which American interests might be endangered (featuring "obtaining vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to operate alone when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush too had entered the presidency vaguely intent on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.

Bush carried a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to step on.

Investigation Approaches

However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, consistently quoting intelligence reports that were either thin or totally inaccurate. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of interrogation method and torture.

Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and create programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."

Public Persona

Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."

Corporate Connections

Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US contracts valued at billions.

It made him rich. His yearly earnings during his period at the company grew from his previous salary when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty