Ex- Vice-President Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Influential Political Career

The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as arguably the most significant incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Although numerous second-in-commands were confined to peripheral or symbolic positions, Cheney exercised enormous sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".

Bush resented this portrayal and claimed the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, always calling him in public as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.

A Aftermath of 9/11

Leading of a contingent of neo-cons that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a school in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the government building.

Cheney claimed the strikes transformed him, making him become intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Decisions

He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of suspects apprehended after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right decision. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I had faith back then and I believe it today."

Yet during that period, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the government's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, at a minimum," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and dishonesty."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had composed a document outlining situations in which national priorities might be threatened (including "availability of vital raw materials, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be postured to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically citing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his father had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and proposed defense operations against Iraq.

Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a conspiracy to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that all visitors had to tread upon.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken advocating attacking Iraq, frequently citing intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.

Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power manipulating Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, in fact."

Business Interests

Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had limited background in business but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the White House. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his period at the corporation rose from his previous salary during his time as military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at more than $20m|twenty