Former US VP Dick Cheney, Architect of Iraq War, Dies at 84

News Desk

Washington: Former US Vice President Dick Cheney, widely regarded as one of the most influential and controversial figures in modern American politics and a chief architect of the 2003 Iraq invasion, has died at the age of 84, his family announced Tuesday.

In a statement, the Cheney family said he passed away on Monday due to complications from pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.

A towering figure in Republican politics, Cheney served as vice president from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush, wielding unprecedented influence over national security and foreign policy. Presidential historians often describe him as one of the most powerful vice presidents in US history.

Before joining the Bush administration, Cheney had already established himself as a Washington heavyweight — serving as a Wyoming congressman, White House chief of staff, and later secretary of defense under President George HW Bush, where he directed the US-led coalition during the 1991 Gulf War to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation.

The Iraq War and Expanding Presidential Power

As vice president, Cheney became the driving force behind the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003, arguing that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction and had ties to al-Qaeda — claims later discredited. Despite widespread criticism after no such weapons were found, Cheney continued to defend the invasion, calling it “the right decision based on the intelligence at the time.”

He was also instrumental in expanding the power of the presidency after the 9/11 attacks, advocating for controversial counterterrorism policies, including “enhanced interrogation techniques” such as waterboarding and sleep deprivation — practices later condemned by rights groups and the UN as torture.

Cheney’s hardline stance often put him at odds with other senior Bush administration officials, including Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice.

Political Legacy and Family

Cheney’s political influence extended into the next generation. His daughter Liz Cheney, a former member of the House of Representatives, became a key Republican critic of Donald Trump, voting to impeach him after the January 6 Capitol attack — a decision that cost her her congressional seat but earned public support from her father.

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“In our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” Cheney said in a 2022 campaign video supporting his daughter.

From Wyoming to Washington

Born Richard Bruce Cheney on January 30, 1941, in Lincoln, Nebraska, Cheney was raised in Casper, Wyoming, in a working-class family. Initially a Democrat, he switched political affiliations early in his career, describing himself as the first Republican in his family in generations.

After briefly attending Yale University, he went on to complete degrees at the University of Wyoming, eventually entering public service during the Nixon and Ford administrations. Cheney’s deep Washington experience later led George W. Bush to tap him — ironically, from his own vice-presidential search committee — as his running mate in 2000.

Upon re-entering public life, Cheney received a $35 million severance package from Halliburton, the oil services firm he led from 1995 to 2000 — a connection that drew criticism when Halliburton became a major government contractor during the Iraq war.

Health Struggles

Cheney battled severe heart disease throughout his adult life, suffering his first heart attack at age 37 and undergoing multiple surgeries before receiving a heart transplant in 2012.

Despite decades of controversy over his policies and worldview, Cheney remained unapologetic about his role in reshaping American power abroad. “I did what I thought was right for the country,” he once said.

He is survived by his wife, Lynne Cheney, and their daughters, Liz and Mary Cheney.