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

The former US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered among the most influential occupants of that position in US history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to minor or figurehead positions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the presidency of George W Bush, so much so that he was often called as the "actual president".

Bush disliked such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably referring to him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the laidback president accommodating on a broad range of governmental choices.

A Aftermath of 9/11

Leading of a faction of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been attending a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft nearing the Capitol building.

Cheney said the strikes altered his perspective, making him become intent on revenge. Together with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Disputed Actions

He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, nor about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on inaccurate information circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance today."

But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I observed, at a minimum," he later wrote "true dereliction, carelessness, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, incompetence, and corruption."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for similar measures. He had written a memo setting out scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (including "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be postured to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush too had arrived in the White House vaguely intent on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his intention of lowering America's participation in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.

Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a conspiracy to murder his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a portrait of his father's visage that each person had to walk over.

Interrogation Methods

However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, frequently citing information documents that were whether weak or totally deceptive. He backed what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the employment of simulated drowning and torture.

Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "riddled with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place procedures to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."

External Perception

Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the sinister strategist in the background that nobody ever sees leave his hole? That is a nice way to function, actually."

Business Interests

Dispute over his commercial relationships followed him throughout his time as VP. Even though he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth substantial sums.

It significantly boosted his finances. His annual income during his tenure at the company grew from his previous salary while military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty