Former VP Dick Cheney: An Examination on the Impactful Government Service

The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful incumbents of that position in the nation's history. Although countless VPs had to settle for peripheral or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was often called as the "true president".

Bush resented that description and claimed the relationship was more nuanced. He observed that Cheney was deferential, invariably addressing him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even descriptions of their relationship as a collaboration because it indicated that they were on equal footing. Regardless of such protestations, Cheney considered the relaxed president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.

The Post-9/11 Era

At the head of a contingent of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he vigorously promoted the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a school in Florida. Whereas Bush traveled to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the downing of any non-communicating airplanes nearing the US Capitol.

Cheney claimed the assaults transformed him, making him become intent on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, although there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.

Debated Actions

He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on faulty intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the proper path to take. "It proved to be the correct action to do at that time. I was convinced at the time and I maintain that stance now."

But even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own special envoys to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I observed, at the very least," he later wrote "true dereliction, inaction, and recklessness: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and graft."

Additional Factors

Cheney was not solely responsible for the Iraq military action. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for such action. He had drafted a memorandum outlining situations in which American interests might be threatened (encompassing "availability of essential resources, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the United States should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly citing armed actions against Iraq.

Bush too had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on implementing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his plan of diminishing America's engagement in the regional tensions and mooted military action against Iraq.

Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, thinking he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He also objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his father's visage that all visitors had to step on.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was part of the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were both weak or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush government politely called as "advanced techniques", the employment of simulated drowning and physical pressure.

Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the torture, Cheney disregarded the report as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to take steps and put in place programmes to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of praise."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed labels imposed on him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the idea that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the malevolent mastermind in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? This represents a advantageous way to work, actually."

Commercial Ties

Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as VP. Although he had limited background in business but good contacts in security, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's most substantial petroleum companies, in 1995 as chair and CEO.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling multiple billions.

It significantly boosted his finances. His yearly earnings during his time at the company increased from his quarter-million dollars during his time as military head to over four million. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package valued at in excess of $20m|twenty