Dick Cheney, Architect of the "War on Terror" and Former U.S. Vice President, Dies

Held Immense Power in the George W. Bush Administration
Vice President Who Led the War on Terror... Dies at 84

Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who was regarded as a symbol of the "neoconservative" movement within the Republican Party, passed away on November 3 (local time). He was 84 years old.

According to international media outlets such as CNN and the Associated Press, Cheney died at his home in Wyoming, surrounded by family, due to complications from pneumonia and cardiovascular disease.

Born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1941, he served as White House Chief of Staff under the Gerald Ford administration and became known as a "hardline pragmatist" when he led the Gulf War as Secretary of Defense under President George H.W. Bush. From 2001 to 2009, he served as Vice President to President George W. Bush, wielding such significant influence that he was often called the "shadow president."

He was especially known as a key architect of the "War on Terror" following the September 11 attacks, and he led the political and military strategies for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. While he is credited with shifting U.S. foreign policy toward "preemptive strikes" after the Cold War, he also faced international criticism for aggressive military interventions and controversies over torture.

Cheney’s health deteriorated to the point where he underwent a heart transplant in 2012, but even after leaving office, he remained a symbol of the Republican Party’s hardline conservative stance. However, he took a sharply different path from former President Donald Trump. He criticized Trump as "the greatest threat to American democracy" and revealed that he voted for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

Cheney’s daughter, former Representative Liz Cheney, also became a symbol of the "anti-Trump Republican" movement alongside her father, supporting the impeachment of Trump.

In American political history, Cheney is remembered as a "vice president beyond a vice president" who wielded extraordinary power. His legacy is summarized by his strong leadership and the revival of Cold War-style realist diplomacy, but he also remains a figure who exposed the dual nature of American conservatism.