Ex- VP Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on the Powerful Time in Office

The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in US history. Whereas many vice-presidents were limited to minor or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "true president".

Bush disliked that description and claimed the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public as President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a partnership because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.

A Period Following the Attacks

In charge of a contingent of neo-conservatives that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the military intervention of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a session at a elementary school in Florida. While Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, commanding the shooting down of any unresponsive airplanes approaching the US Capitol.

Cheney stated the assaults transformed him, causing him to be intent on retaliation. In conjunction with other neo-cons, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Debated Policies

He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis perished, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I believed it back then and I hold that view presently."

But during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: potentially, falsehoods, incompetence, and dishonesty."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had drafted a document detailing scenarios in which US concerns might be endangered (encompassing "obtaining vital raw materials, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be positioned to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the White House somewhat determined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed 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 Middle East dispute and proposed military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his parent's face that all visitors had to walk over.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, repeatedly referencing information documents that were either thin or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and physical pressure.

Answering a Senate document in 2014 that concluded that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the author's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Am I the sinister strategist in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? This represents a nice way to function, truthfully."

Business Interests

Debate over his commercial relationships followed him through his period as second-in-command. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in military, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest energy companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was given US contracts worth multiple billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty