US: Dick Cheney, one of the most influential and controversial vice presidents in American history and a key driving force behind the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, has died at the age of 84. His family said he passed away on Monday due to complications related to pneumonia and heart and vascular disease.
Cheney served as Vice President under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009, shaping national security policy in the years following the September 11 attacks.
A former congressman from Wyoming and defense secretary under George H.W. Bush, he entered the White House already steeped in Washington power and helped expand the authority of the presidency and his own office in unprecedented ways.
Cheney was a force behind the decision to invade Iraq, arguing that Saddam Hussein held weapons of mass destruction and posed a direct threat. No such weapons were found, but Cheney long defended the war, saying the intelligence at the time justified the action.
He was also a central figure in the Bush administration’s hard-line counterterrorism strategy, backing the CIA’s use of aggressive interrogation tactics, including waterboarding, that drew fierce criticism at home and abroad.
His tenure saw sharp clashes inside the administration as he pressed a hawkish worldview that regularly put him at odds with senior officials, including Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice.
Born in Nebraska in 1941 and raised in Wyoming, Cheney built a long career in Republican politics. Before becoming vice president, he served in Congress for a decade and later led Halliburton, an energy services company that would become a major government contractor during the Iraq War.
Despite his conservative credentials, Cheney occasionally broke party lines. In later years, he publicly supported his daughter Liz Cheney’s stand against Donald Trump and said he could not support Trump’s return to the White House. Cheney faced lifelong heart problems, suffering multiple heart attacks and receiving a transplant in 2012.
Family and Legacy
Cheney is survived by his wife, Lynne, and daughters Liz and Mary. Known for his sharp wit as much as his combative politics, he remained unapologetic about his decisions long after leaving office,
His legacy, closely tied to the Iraq War and the post-9/11 era, continues to shape debate over presidential power, national security, and America’s role in the world.
