Dick Cheney, co-architect of Iraq War that killed thousands, is dead

Former Vice President Dick Cheney, one of the major architects of the Iraq War that killed thousands of people in Iraq and America based on his lies about weapons of mass destruction, died Tuesday at age 84.

Cheney most notably served as vice president to former President George W. Bush for eight years, in which the two presided over the war, the collapse of the American economy, and numerous scandals, like the administration’s disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

Before becoming Bush’s running mate in the 2000 election—he led Bush’s vice presidential search committee, then declared himself the best option—Cheney served as chief of staff for Gerald Ford’s one-term presidency, in the House of Representatives for Wyoming, and as secretary of defense for George H.W. Bush. 

Cheney became vice president after the Supreme Court chose Bush in the fall of 2000, legitimizing the Republican Party’s tactics in the state of Florida that invalidated thousands of Democratic votes for then-Vice President Al Gore and Sen. Joe Lieberman.

Cheney was regarded by many as the “brains” behind the Bush White House. 

No sugar-coating it: Daily Kos needs your help. Can you chip in $5 today?

It was on the watch of the Bush-Cheney administration that America suffered the worst terrorist attack in the nation’s history on Sept. 11, 2001. While Bush received a classified memo indicating that Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida network intended to launch attacks against America, the administration chose not to take any overt action to thwart the terrorist threat.

Almost immediately, the Bush administration began pushing for a war in Iraq, based on the false claim that dictator Saddam Hussein was sympathetic to bin Laden and was in possession of weapons of mass destruction. Cheney was the front man for the WMD campaign, famously touting the purported use of “aluminum tubes” by Saddam as evidence that he was building a weapons program.

There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

The American invasion of Iraq in 2003 ultimately killed at least 200,000 Iraqi civilians and 4,492 American soldiers, with an additional 32,292 service members wounded. The war cost the American people at least $728 billion and further destabilized the Middle East in ways that still reverberate today.

This was the pinnacle of Cheney’s career as a leader, and he never expressed regret for his lies and mistakes that led to the yearslong disaster.

In March 2008, ABC News’ Martha Raddatz asked him about the disastrous war.

“Two-thirds of Americans say it's not worth fighting,” Raddatz said, “and they're looking at the value gain versus the cost in American lives, certainly, and Iraqi lives.”

“So?” Cheney replied.

“So—you don't care what the American people think?”

“No,” Cheney said, “I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls.”

No billionaire backers, no paywalls. Daily Kos news exists because of YOU, our donor community. Now, we need your help. Please donate today.

To the bitter end, Cheney didn’t care what people thought of his war or the death and destruction it needlessly caused.

Along with pushing the fake case for war, Cheney also advocated for the use of reprehensible and counterproductive military tactics like torture. 

Cheney defended the use of waterboarding in a 2014 interview, even though the tactic and other so-called enhanced interrogation tactics had long been internationally condemned and shown to be useless in capturing terrorists or defending civilians. 

“I’d do it again in a minute,” he said of his role in creating the country’s torture program. 

In fact, despite its promises, its wars, and its interrogation techniques, the Bush-Cheney administration failed to capture bin Laden and bring him to justice. That happened under President Barack Obama.

The Bush-Cheney team was also in charge when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005, killing thousands as many more residents suffered from a slow and disorganized response orchestrated by then-Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency Michael Brown, who had more experience with Arabian horses than natural disasters.

In 2008, as the nation faced an economic crisis triggered by subprime mortgage loans, Cheney made a statement symptomatic of the administration’s uncaring attitude. 

“We don't want to interfere with the basic, fundamental working of the markets,” Cheney said. 

Over the next few months, the country and the world were in chaos, and while the Bush-Cheney administration bailed out banks, millions of Americans lost their homes and jobs, and the global economy entered the Great Recession.

When he wasn’t pushing lies about WMDs, promoting torture, and ignoring natural disasters and looming economic crises, Cheney was pursuing leisure activities like “accidentally” shooting his friend.

During a 2006 hunting trip, Cheney shot lawyer Harry Whittington, whose body was embedded with birdshot pellets and who suffered a minor heart attack as a result. Amazingly, when he left the hospital, Whittington apologized to Cheney, his shooter.

“My family and I are deeply sorry for all that Vice-President Cheney and his family have had to go through this past week,” he said.

Cheney is survived by his wife, Lynne, and his two children, Mary and Liz.

Click here to check out this story on DailyKos.com.

We're not asking for much

The average donation to Daily Kos has been just $9.44. These donations may seem small, but they're a big deal to us. In fact, they are our largest source of income. We literally couldn't do the work we do without them. Can you join thousands of other Daily Kos readers and help us with a donation of $9.44 right now?