Former VP Dick Cheney: An Examination on His Powerful Government Service

The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant incumbents of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous VPs were confined to marginal or ceremonial roles, Cheney held enormous sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often called as the "true president".

Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in public settings as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were equals. In spite of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president malleable on a wide array of administrative determinations.

The Post-9/11 Era

At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that included defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a elementary school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the downing of any unidentified planes nearing the government building.

Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, making him become focused on revenge. Along with other conservative figures, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Disputed Actions

He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis died, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was founded on faulty intelligence repeated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced back then and I hold that view today."

Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a senior level about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the role. "I saw, as a baseline," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and unaccountability: potentially, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."

Broader Context

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had written a memo setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (including "availability of essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "America should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on implementing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. Following he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of lowering America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.

Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been responsible for a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally objected to that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's visage that everyone had to tread upon.

Investigation Approaches

However it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, frequently citing agency briefings that were whether insubstantial or completely misleading. He backed what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and harsh treatment.

Responding to a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to implement measures and establish procedures to catch the perpetrators who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."

Public Persona

Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by opponents such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that operates invisibly leave his domain? It's a effective way to function, in fact."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as vice-president. Although he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but good contacts in security, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and top executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded US agreements valued at multiple billions.

It made him rich. His annual income during his time at the corporation increased from his $258,394 when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth more than $20m|twenty