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

The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in American history. While numerous VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial functions, Cheney held enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently referred to as the "real president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and claimed the dynamic was more complex. He observed that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a partnership because it suggested that they were equals. Regardless of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.

The Post-9/11 Era

Leading of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been taking part in a meeting at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the destruction of any non-communicating planes approaching the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the attacks changed him, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Controversial Actions

He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on misleading intelligence echoed by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the proper decision to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view now."

Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "obvious failure, negligence, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, unfitness, and dishonesty."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not solely to blame for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had written a memorandum outlining situations in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing military moves against Iraq.

Bush also had assumed the Oval Office somewhat determined on executing what his father had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his intention of reducing America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.

Bush bore a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a scheme to murder his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to step on.

Investigation Approaches

However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were both thin or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration politely called as "enhanced interrogation", the application of interrogation method and torture.

Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that concluded that no valuable data had come from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and create programmes to catch the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."

Public Persona

Cheney reveled in labels given to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to work, actually."

Business Interests

Dispute over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as VP. Even though he had limited background in commerce but strong connections in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US agreements worth billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm grew from his $258,394 while military head to over four million. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty