Copyright Santa Clarita Valley Signal
By Tom Ozimek Contributing Writer Dick Cheney, who served as vice president under George W. Bush and was a driving force behind the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, has died at 84, his family announced on Tuesday. Cheney died Monday night from complications of pneumonia and heart and vascular disease, according to a family statement. He battled heart disease for much of his life, suffering his first heart attack at 37 and receiving a heart transplant in 2012. A former Wyoming congressman and defense secretary, Cheney was already a powerful Washington insider when Bush chose him as his running mate in 2000. As vice president from 2001 to 2009, he pushed to expand presidential authority and made the vice presidency one of the most influential offices in modern history. Cheney was a leading advocate for invading Iraq, arguing that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction — claims later disproved. To many, Cheney symbolized how America’s response to the 9/11 terror attack — shaped by faulty intelligence — turned Iraq from a rapid conquest into a grinding, bloody war. Until his death, Cheney stood by his record, saying he did what was necessary after the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 2,800 people and set off two decades of divisive wars. “It was the right thing to do then,” Cheney told CNN in 2015 regarding the Iraq invasion. “I believed it then, and I believe it now.” His daughter Liz Cheney followed him into politics, serving in Congress until she lost her seat after voting to impeach President Donald Trump. Cheney supported her stance and later said he would vote for the Democratic presidential candidate — then-Vice President Kamala Harris — in 2024, calling Trump “a greater threat to our republic” than any other individual in U.S. history. Before his vice presidency, Cheney served as defense secretary under President George H.W. Bush, overseeing the 1991 Gulf War. As vice president, his influence and unapologetic hawkishness earned him both admiration and criticism — and even the nickname “Darth Vader,” which he once jokingly embraced. Cheney is survived by his wife of 61 years, Lynne, and their daughters, Liz and Mary. In their statement, Cheney’s family described him as “a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honor, love, kindness, and fly fishing.” “We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country,” the family wrote. “And we are blessed beyond measure to have loved and been loved by this noble giant of a man.” Condolences News of Cheney’s death drew a number of tributes. Former President George W. Bush called Cheney’s death “a loss to the nation and a sorrow to his friends.” In a statement, Bush said he and former First Lady Laura Bush will remember Cheney “for the decent, honorable man that he was.” He added that history will view Cheney “as among the finest public servants of his generation — a patriot who brought integrity, high intelligence, and seriousness of purpose to every position he held.” The former president recalled how he had first asked Cheney to help him find a running mate in 2000, only to realize that Cheney himself was the right choice. “I’m still grateful that he was at my side for the eight years that followed,” he said. Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of the former president, spoke about Cheney’s passing on NBC’s “Today” show. “Of course, I think everybody is waking up and thinking about his family,” she said. “When you hear of a politician who passes, there’s tons of coverage about what they are like as a politician. “But as a daughter of a politician, as a granddaughter of a politician, I’m just thinking of his daughters and who they are missing, which is not necessarily a man who casts votes, but rather a man who raised them.” Other political figures also offered condolences. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., said in a statement that his “prayers are with the Cheney family,” calling the former vice president “a dedicated public servant and committed to the safety and security of his fellow Americans.” Womack recalled first meeting Cheney during a 2002 visit to his Army battalion in Egypt’s Sinai and reconnecting with him years later on a trip on the Snake River in the United States, fishing for cutthroat trout. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush called Cheney a “wonderful person and a great patriot.” “RIP Vice President Cheney,” he wrote in a statement on social media.
