Ex- VP Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Powerful Government Service

The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was regarded as one of the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in US history. Although many second-in-commands had to settle for marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded enormous power during the administration of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".

Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the connection was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, always calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.

A Period Following the Attacks

In charge of a group of neo-cons that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unidentified planes heading toward the government building.

Cheney claimed the attacks altered his perspective, leading him to become focused on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Disputed Actions

He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was founded on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it then and I believe it presently."

Yet even then, there were opposing views at a senior 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 reappointed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "obvious failure, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for similar measures. He had drafted a document setting out circumstances in which national priorities might be threatened (featuring "availability of essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing military moves against Iraq.

Bush additionally had assumed the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.

Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, thinking he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his parent, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to step on.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement supporting attacking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were either weak or completely deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.

Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in monikers imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the journalist'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 emerge from his lair? That is a effective way to function, in fact."

Corporate Connections

Dispute over his business interests accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in commerce but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.

In 2000 he became Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US deals totaling billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm rose from his $258,394 during his time as military head to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty