Ex- Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Powerful Government Service

The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most powerful occupants of the vice-presidency in US history. Although many vice-presidents were confined to minor or ceremonial positions, Cheney held huge sway during the administration of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "actual president".

Bush resented that description and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He noted that Cheney was respectful, consistently calling him in official appearances as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney viewed the relaxed president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.

A Period Following the Attacks

At the head of a faction of neo-cons that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the downing of any unresponsive planes nearing the US Capitol.

Cheney said the attacks transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Debated Decisions

He showed no remorse about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the enhanced interrogation of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."

Yet even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and recklessness: potentially, lying, incompetence, and dishonesty."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be compromised (including "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning military moves against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the White House generally inclined on carrying out what his father had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his plan of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and proposed defense operations against Iraq.

Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a scheme to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He also resented that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his predecessor's face that all visitors had to tread upon.

Investigation Approaches

But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken behind attacking Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were whether insubstantial or completely deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "advanced techniques", the use of waterboarding and torture.

Responding to a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney disregarded the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."

Public Image

Cheney reveled in nicknames imposed on him by opponents such as the Star Wars villain and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the evil genius in the background that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."

Commercial Ties

Controversy over his commercial relationships pursued him through his period as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as leader and top executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his quarter-million dollars during his time as defence secretary to over four million. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package worth over $20m|twenty