One-time Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Retrospective on the Powerful Government Service

The late US vice-president Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. While many vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or figurehead functions, Cheney exercised enormous power during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "real president".

Bush objected to that description and said the dynamic was more complicated. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of administrative determinations.

A Period Following the Attacks

At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a session at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, ordering the downing of any non-communicating airplanes approaching the Capitol building.

Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Actions

He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the enhanced interrogation of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was based on faulty reports echoed by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced back then and I believe it now."

Yet even then, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own delegates to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: in the worst case, lying, unfitness, and corruption."

Broader Context

Cheney was not entirely accountable for the Iraq military action. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts prove impossible," explicitly referencing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush too had arrived in the presidency somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of diminishing America's involvement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.

Bush bore a individual resentment against Saddam, believing he had been behind a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.

Investigation Approaches

But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement behind invading Iraq, frequently quoting intelligence reports that were whether thin or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.

Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "full of crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place procedures to capture the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."

External Perception

Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the notion that he was a sinister influence manipulating Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly leave his domain? This represents a effective way to work, truthfully."

Corporate Connections

Dispute over his business interests followed him through his period as second-in-command. While he had limited background in business but good contacts in defence, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial energy companies, in 1995 as leader and top executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at multiple billions.

It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his period at the firm grew from his $258,394 during his time as military head to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty