One-time VP Dick Cheney: A Look Back on His Powerful Political Career

The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most influential occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Although numerous vice-presidents were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney held huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "actual president".

Bush resented such a characterisation and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush questioned even characterisations of their relationship as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of policy decisions.

The Aftermath of 9/11

At the head of a faction of conservative hawks that featured military head Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the Capitol building.

Cheney stated the strikes transformed him, leading him to become determined on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend 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, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the right decision. "It was the right thing to do then. I was convinced then and I maintain that stance now."

Yet even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, falsehoods, unfitness, and graft."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had composed a memorandum outlining scenarios in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be postured to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically citing military moves against Iraq.

Bush too had entered the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his intention of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the biggest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his predecessor's face that everyone had to walk over.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind attacking Iraq, frequently quoting information documents that were either thin or entirely misleading. He endorsed what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.

Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no useful information had been obtained through the torture, Cheney rejected the findings as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they earn a lot of credit."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in labels imposed on him by critics such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 publication about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the shadows that nobody ever sees leave his hole? That is a effective way to operate, actually."

Business Interests

Debate over his commercial relationships pursued him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as leader and CEO.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his time at the company rose from his $258,394 while Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at more than $20m|twenty