One-time Vice-President Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Influential Government Service

The former US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as among the most significant holders of that office in the nation's history. Although numerous vice-presidents were confined to marginal or ceremonial positions, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the term of George W Bush, so much so that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".

Bush disliked this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, consistently calling him in public as the President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their association as a partnership because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of these objections, Cheney viewed the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.

The Post-9/11 Era

At the head of a contingent of conservative hawks that featured defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence 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 attack, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, ordering the destruction of any unresponsive planes nearing the Capitol building.

Cheney claimed the strikes changed him, leading him to become intent on retribution. Along with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.

Disputed Policies

He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, nor about the waterboarding of suspects captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was based on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the correct decision. "It was the correct action to do back then. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance today."

However even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not reappointed from the position. "I observed, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, unfitness, and corruption."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for similar measures. He had written a memo outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (featuring "availability of crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "America should be postured to act independently when cooperative measures prove impossible," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted defense operations against Iraq.

Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, believing he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a visit to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore resented that one of the most prominent accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's face that everyone had to step on.

Interrogation Methods

Yet it was Cheney who was one of the most outspoken supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly citing intelligence reports that were both thin or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush government euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of waterboarding and harsh treatment.

Answering a Senate document in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had come from the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the report as "riddled with crap". He informed Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to establish protocols and establish initiatives to capture the bastards who murdered 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney took pleasure in monikers given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the notion that he was a dark force manipulating 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: "Am I the evil genius in the shadows that operates invisibly emerge from his hole? That is a advantageous way to work, in fact."

Commercial Ties

Dispute over his business interests pursued him through his period as vice-president. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's largest energy conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.

In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the presidency. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling multiple billions.

It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the firm rose from his previous salary when he was Pentagon chief to millions. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling in excess of $20m|twenty