Dick Cheney, a driving unit down the U.S. penetration of Iraq successful 2003 who was considered by statesmanlike historians arsenic 1 of the astir almighty vice presidents successful U.S. past has died astatine property 84, his household said successful a connection connected Tuesday.
Cheney died Monday nighttime from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, his household said.
The Republican - a erstwhile Wyoming congressman and caput of defence - was already a large Washington subordinate erstwhile then-Texas politician George W. Bush chose him to beryllium his moving mate successful the 2000 statesmanlike contention that Bush went connected to win.
As vice president from 2001 to 2009, Cheney fought vigorously for an enlargement of the powerfulness of the presidency, having felt that it had been eroding since the Watergate ungraded that drove his one-time brag Richard Nixon from office. He besides expanded the clout of the vice president's bureau by putting unneurotic a nationalist information squad that often served arsenic a powerfulness halfway of its ain wrong the administration.
Cheney was a beardown advocator for the 2003 penetration of Iraq and was among the astir outspoken of Bush medication officials informing of the information from Iraq's alleged stockpile of weapons of wide destruction. No specified weapons were found.
He clashed with respective apical Bush aides, including Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, and defended "enhanced" interrogation techniques of coercion suspects that included waterboarding and slumber deprivation. Others, including the U.S. Senate Select Committee connected Intelligence and the U.N. peculiar rapporteur connected antagonistic coercion and quality rights, called these techniques "torture."
His girl Liz Cheney besides became an influential Republican lawmaker, serving successful the House of Representatives but losing her spot aft opposing Republican President Donald Trump and voting to impeach him successful the aftermath of the January 6, 2021 onslaught connected the Capitol by his supporters. Her begetter agreed with her and said helium would ballot for Democratic campaigner Kamala Harris successful 2024.
"In our nation's 248 year-history, determination has ne'er been an idiosyncratic who is simply a greater menace to our republic than Donald Trump," said the antheral who had agelong been a foe of the left.
Cheney was troubled overmuch of his beingness by bosom problems, suffering the archetypal of a fig of bosom attacks astatine property 37. He had a bosom transplant successful 2012.
Taking connected Iraq
Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who had been colleagues successful the Nixon White House, were cardinal voices pushing for the March 2003 penetration of Iraq.
In the run-up to the war, Cheney suggested determination mightiness beryllium links betwixt Iraq and al Qaeda and the September 11, 2001 attacks connected the United States. A committee connected the 9/11 attacks aboriginal discredited this theory.
Cheney predicted U.S. forces would beryllium "greeted arsenic liberators" successful Iraq and that the unit deployment - which would past astir a decennary - would "go comparatively rapidly ... weeks alternatively than months."
Although nary weapons of wide demolition were found, Cheney successful aboriginal years insisted that the penetration was the close determination based connected the quality astatine the clip and the removal of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power.
More than a decennary earlier arsenic defence caput nether President George H.W. Bush, Cheney had directed the U.S. subject cognition to expel an Iraqi concern service from Kuwait successful the archetypal Gulf War.
He urged Bush elder to instrumentality an uncompromising enactment against Iraq aft Saddam Hussein sent his troops to inhabit Kuwait successful August 1990. But astatine that constituent Cheney did not enactment an penetration of Iraq, saying the United States would person to enactment unsocial and that the concern would go a quagmire.
Because of Cheney's agelong ties to the Bush household and acquisition successful government, George W. Bush chose him to caput his vice statesmanlike hunt successful 2000. Bush past decided the antheral doing the hunt was the champion campaigner for the job.
Upon his re-entry into politics, Cheney received a $35 cardinal status bundle from lipid services steadfast Halliburton, which helium had tally from 1995 to 2000. Halliburton became a starring authorities contractor during the Iraq war. Cheney's lipid manufacture links were a taxable of predominant disapproval by opponents of the war.
The archetypal Republican successful generations
Richard Bruce Cheney was calved successful Lincoln, Nebraska, to Marjorie Lorraine (née Dickey) and Richard Herbert Cheney connected January 30, 1941, the time then-President Franklin Roosevelt turned 59. His parent was a waitress turned softball player, his begetter a national idiosyncratic with the Soil Conservation Service.
Both sides of the household were staunch New Deal Democrats, helium wrote successful his 2011 publication "In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir."
Convinced that the president would privation to cognize that helium shared a day with the newborn, Cheney's gramps urged Marjorie and Richard to stock the quality by telegram with the White House.
In his household helium "was the archetypal Republican astir apt since my great-grandfather who fought successful the Civil War connected the Union side," helium told the PBS documentary "Dick Cheney: A Heartbeat Away."
He moved arsenic a lad to Wyoming with his family, earlier attending Yale University. "I was a mediocre student, astatine best," helium said.He dropped out.
'A deadly allergy to olive drab'
Back successful Wyoming successful 1962, helium worked connected gathering electrical transmission lines and coal-fired powerfulness stations, earlier yet earning undergraduate and master's degrees successful governmental subject from the University of Wyoming.
Of that clip helium recalled a sojourn by past President John F. Kennedy, who addressed students connected the value of utilizing what they were learning to physique a amended federation and a amended world. "He had inspired america all, and astatine a clip erstwhile I was trying to enactment my beingness backmost together, I was peculiarly grateful for the consciousness of elevated possibilities helium described," Cheney wrote successful his memoir.
In his 20s, Cheney powerfully disagreed with the students who unopen down campuses successful protestation against the Vietnam War, helium recalled successful his memoir. "As a wide proposition, I supported our troops successful Vietnam and the close of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations to marque the determination to beryllium progressive there," helium wrote. He himself was ne'er drafted.
According to his biographer, John Nichols, Cheney repeatedly applied for deferments and exemptions to debar conscription. "Cheney reacted to the imaginable of wearing his country's azygous similar a antheral with a deadly allergy to olive drab," Nichols wrote successful The Nation mag successful 2011. Cheney stated that helium would person been blessed to serve.
Embracing Darth Vader
Cheney went to Washington successful 1969 arsenic a legislature intern and held assorted White House jobs during the Republican administrations of Nixon and Gerald Ford. One of his earliest mentors was Rumsfeld, who worked arsenic caput of defence successful some the Ford and George W. Bush administrations. When Cheney became Ford's main of staff, helium succeeded Rumsfeld.
During the 10 years helium served arsenic Wyoming's lone congressman, Cheney had a highly blimpish record, consistently voting against termination rights. He besides voted against the merchandise of imprisoned South African person Nelson Mandela and against weapon power and biology and acquisition backing measures.
His woman Lynne, who had been his precocious schoolhouse sweetheart, became a blimpish dependable connected taste issues. Liz, the couple's eldest daughter, was elected to the House successful 2016 aft gathering a estimation for pushing hawkish overseas argumentation views akin to her father's.
During his clip arsenic vice president, late-night tv comedians referred to Cheney arsenic Darth Vader. He shrugged it disconnected by joking that helium was honored to beryllium compared to the "Star Wars" villain, adjacent dressing arsenic Vader for an quality connected the "Tonight Show" to beforehand his memoir.
'Thank you to Satan'
Even earlier the emergence of Trump, his enactment for blimpish issues was not uniform. His 2nd daughter, Mary, a Republican fundraiser, is simply a lesbian. Cheney spoke supportively of same-sex relationships, which enactment him astatine likelihood with the Bush administration's propulsion for a law amendment against cheery marriage. That amendment yet failed.
In 2006 helium made headlines during a hunting travel successful Texas erstwhile helium accidentally wounded his friend, Texas lawyer Harry Wittington, successful the look with a spray of birdshot.
Controversy continued to canine Cheney adjacent aft helium near the Bush administration. He was the taxable of a scathing biographical movie successful 2018 titled "Vice," starring Christian Bale, who gained 40 pounds (18 kg) and shaved his caput to mimic the erstwhile vice president's paunchiness and baldness.
"Thank you to Satan for giving maine inspiration connected however to play this role," Bale said successful accepting a Golden Globes grant for his Cheney portrayal.
During a publication circuit for his memoir, Cheney seemed to relish raising the ire of critics. Just earlier its merchandise helium gleefully predicted it would permission heads "exploding" each implicit Washington.
He devoted parts of the publication to settling scores with erstwhile colleagues specified arsenic Rice, whom helium depicted arsenic naive. Cheney besides took purpose astatine then-President Barack Obama's satellite view, puzzling implicit the Democrat's interest that the U.S. subject situation astatine Guantanamo Bay successful Cuba was harmful to America's image.
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