Dick Cheney’s death a loss to the nation, says George W Bush

Former US President George W. Bush mourned Dick Cheney, saying that his death was “a loss for the nation and a sadness for his friends.”

Cheney died on Monday evening from complications of pneumonia and cardiovascular disease His family said in a statement that he was 84 years old.

He became one of the most powerful US vice presidents in history during the Bush era, leaving behind a controversial legacy as a key architect of the “War on Terror” and an early advocate of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

“He will be remembered in history as one of the best public servants of his generation,” Bush said in a statement.

Bush added that Cheney was “a patriot who brought integrity, high intelligence, and seriousness of purpose to every position he held.”

“I relied on him for honest, frank counsel, and he never failed to give his best. He stood by his convictions and prioritized the freedom and security of the American people.”

Condoleezza Rice, who served as secretary of state alongside Cheney in the Bush administration, said she admired him “for his integrity and his love for our country.”

“He was an inspiring presence and mentor who taught me a lot about public service,” she wrote on X.

“Although we often disagreed, I always respected his dedication to our country and his unwavering sense of duty,” former Democratic President Bill Clinton said.

Despite being a powerful figure in the Republican Party for many years, Cheney became a vocal critic under Donald Trump, who has yet to comment on his death.

“The Bible is very clear, we give honor where honor is due,” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said.

“Even when we had political differences as someone later in life, you have to respect the sacrifices and service they gave to their country,” he said.

Flags at the White House were lowered to half-staff on Tuesday morning, shortly after his death was announced.

Cheney’s family said in their statement announcing his death that he was “a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country and to live a life of courage, honor, love, kindness and fly fishing.”

Cheney has been a controversial political figure, particularly in his role behind the “War on Terror”, which saw the United States invade Iraq in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

Iraqi writer Sinan Antun said that Cheney’s lasting legacy in the country is “chaos and terrorism.”

“In a different world, Dick Cheney would certainly be a war criminal and would be put on trial,” he told the BBC’s NewsHour programme.

Christopher Goldsmith, a US Army veteran who was sent to Iraq, told the BBC: “Most people see Dick Cheney as someone who created a massive problem that ended up with hundreds of thousands dead.”

Richard “Dick” Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1941 and later attended the prestigious Yale University on a scholarship but failed to graduate.

He went on to earn a master’s degree in political science from the University of Wyoming.

His first experience with Washington was in 1968, when he worked for William Steger, a young Republican representative from Wisconsin.

Cheney became Gerald Ford’s chief of staff in 1975, when he was just 34, before spending a decade in the House of Representatives.

As Secretary of Defense under George H. W. Bush, he headed the Pentagon during the 1990-1991 Gulf War, in which the US-led coalition expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

He became George W. Bush’s vice president in 2001, and played a larger role in making major policy decisions than most of his predecessors.

It is for this role that he will be best remembered and most controversial.

During the Bush administration, he single-handedly transformed his role as vice president from a traditionally empty role, with little formal authority, to a de facto vice president, overseeing American foreign policy and national security in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001.

He was one of the most prominent advocates of American military action in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

In the period leading up to the invasion of Iraq, Cheney said that Saddam Hussein’s regime possessed so-called weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons were found during the military campaign.

He also repeatedly claimed that there were links between Iraq and Al Qaeda, the terrorist group led by Osama bin Laden that claimed responsibility for the September 11 attacks. He said the attackers would bring “the full wrath” of US military power.

Cheney’s key role in the election campaign has greatly affected his political legacy, after it took the United States many years to extricate itself from its costly war in Iraq, which killed hundreds of thousands of people.

His political career later became the subject of a major feature film in the 2018 film Vice, for which actor Christian Bale won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of the former vice president.

Cheney had many heart problems throughout his life.

He had the first of many heart attacks in 1978, when he was just 37 years old. Cheney was campaigning for a seat in the House of Representatives at the time – and smoked three packs of cigarettes a day.

In 2010 he underwent surgery to install a small heart pump to try to combat his “progressive congestive heart failure”.

At this point he had already suffered five heart attacks. Two years later, Cheney underwent a total heart transplant.

He leaves behind his wife Lynn, daughters Liz and Mary Cheney, and seven grandchildren.

Despite working for decades with Republican presidents, he has become a vocal opponent of President Donald Trump.

After initially endorsing him in 2016, Cheney was dismayed by allegations of Russian interference in the presidential election and Trump’s seemingly casual stance on NATO.

He supported his eldest daughter, Liz, as she became a prominent “never Trump” Republican in the House — and condemned the refusal to accept the 2020 election result.

Two months before last year’s US presidential election, Cheney made a major intervention: he announced that he would vote for Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s nominee.

He said that “no person has posed a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump.”

In contrast, Trump called Cheney an “irrelevant Reno” — an acronym that means “Republican in name only.”

In his final years, Cheney became persona non grata in his party, which was reshaped in Trump’s image.

And in a bizarre final twist, his criticism of Trump — and his endorsement of Harris — will earn him praise from some on the left who once condemned him decades ago.