One-time Vice-President Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Powerful Time in Office

The deceased US vice-president Dick Cheney, who died at the age of 84, was seen as one of the most influential incumbents of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although countless second-in-commands had to settle for minor or ceremonial functions, Cheney wielded enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly called as the "actual president".

Bush resented such a characterisation and stated the relationship was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, consistently referring to him in public settings as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were on equal footing. Regardless of these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president malleable on a whole raft of administrative determinations.

The Aftermath of 9/11

At the head of a faction of neo-conservatives that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been attending a session at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush headed for a secure location in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the downing of any non-communicating planes approaching the US Capitol.

Cheney said the assaults changed him, causing him to be intent on revenge. In conjunction with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the military action of Iraq, though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Debated Actions

He expressed no regrets about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of individuals rounded up after 9/11. He stated to CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion, which was predicated on misleading information circulated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I had faith then and I maintain that stance now."

However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a senior level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I observed, at the very least," he wrote later "true dereliction, inaction, and irresponsibility: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and graft."

Broader Context

Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document setting out circumstances in which US concerns might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when collective action prove impossible," explicitly mentioning armed actions against Iraq.

Bush also had entered the presidency vaguely intent on implementing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; remove Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill revealed how, at the first meeting of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of reducing America's involvement in the Middle East dispute and mooted military action against Iraq.

Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been involved in a plot to assassinate his father, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's countenance that all visitors had to step on.

Questioning Techniques

Yet it was Cheney who was among the most vehement advocating invading Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were both weak or entirely deceptive. He backed what the Bush White House indirectly described as "advanced techniques", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.

Responding to a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no useful information had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the findings as "full of crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and create procedures to catch the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they earn a lot of recognition."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed monikers assigned to him by detractors such as Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness, and by the concept that he was a sinister influence controlling Bush. In the journalist's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the background that remains unseen come out of his domain? It's a nice way to function, truthfully."

Commercial Ties

Debate over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had little experience in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's VP candidate for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was given US agreements worth substantial sums.

It made him rich. His annual income during his tenure at the company increased from his previous salary during his time as military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a severance arrangement totaling over $20m|twenty