Ex- Vice-President Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Impactful Political Career

The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most significant incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Whereas numerous VPs were limited to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "actual president".

Bush objected to this portrayal and claimed the connection was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was courteous, invariably calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were peers. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.

The Period Following the Attacks

In charge of a faction of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for 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 participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the destruction of any unidentified planes approaching the government building.

Cheney stated the assaults altered his perspective, making him become focused on retribution. Along with other neo-cons, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a takeover of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Policies

He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on inaccurate intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the correct course of action. "It represented the right thing to do at that time. I was convinced back then and I hold that view now."

However during that period, there were contrary opinions at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "clear negligence, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and corruption."

Wider Perspective

Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memorandum detailing scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "access to essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be arranged," particularly citing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush too had assumed the White House vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Following he had been sacked by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's participation in the regional tensions and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.

Bush bore a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore disliked that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a portrait of his predecessor's countenance that all visitors had to tread upon.

Questioning Techniques

Yet it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly referencing intelligence reports that were either weak or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush White House politely called as "advanced techniques", the application of interrogation method and harsh treatment.

Addressing a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney dismissed the report as "loaded with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to apprehend the bastards who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they earn a lot of credit."

Public Persona

Cheney enjoyed labels given to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that remains unseen come out of his domain? That is a nice way to operate, actually."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his business interests pursued him throughout his time as vice-president. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

In 2000 he became Bush's running mate for the presidency. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US deals totaling substantial sums.

It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the corporation increased from his previous salary while Pentagon chief to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth in excess of $20m|twenty