Dick Cheney’s Death: A Reckoning Deferred on the Legacy of the Iraq War
The death of former Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday presents a critical juncture for U.S. media: a chance to confront the realities of the George W. Bush era, or to succumb to a wave of nostalgia that obscures a deeply damaging legacy. Initial coverage suggests the latter is far more likely, with figures across the political spectrum rushing to praise Cheney’s “strength” and “determination,” while downplaying the profound consequences of his policies.
MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” led the charge on Tuesday, framing Cheney as a resolute leader dedicated to protecting the nation. Host Joe Scarborough highlighted the former vice president’s commitment to preventing another 9/11, while historian Jon Meacham described him as “a remarkable American figure,” lamenting that “we don’t make them like this anymore.” This sentiment, coupled with accolades from prominent Democrats like Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and Adam Schiff for his late-in-life opposition to Donald Trump, signals a troubling pattern – a willingness to forgive and even rehabilitate a figure central to some of the most consequential and controversial decisions in recent American history.
This eagerness to embrace Cheney’s final act as a “defender of democracy” ignores a crucial truth: he arguably laid the groundwork for the very political climate that enabled Trump’s rise. Cheney perfected a brand of post-truth politics, prioritizing agenda over facts and dismissing dissent as disloyalty – a tactic Trump would later master. He routinely cast aside legal constraints, initiating wars based on dubious intelligence and disregarding prohibitions on torture, while demonizing opponents as “terrorist” sympathizers. The echoes of this rhetoric are unmistakable in the present day.
A Legacy Forged in Bloodshed
Cheney’s legacy is inextricably linked to the immense human cost of the Iraq War and the financial gains reaped by private sector allies. Having served under three Republican presidents – Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush – Cheney played a pivotal role in prosecuting two wars against Iraq. The first, during the Gulf War in the early 1990s, paved the way for the second, a disastrous conflict that destabilized the Middle East and defined the younger Bush’s presidency.
Cheney was a masterful manipulator of the national media, spearheading the effort to sell the 2003 Iraq War to the American public. He repeatedly appeared on “Meet the Press” throughout the 2000s, presenting host Tim Russert with demonstrably false claims linking Saddam Hussein to Adolf Hitler and falsely implying Iraqi involvement in the 9/11 attacks. When Iraq descended into chaos following the U.S. invasion, Cheney returned to Russert in 2006, arguing that criticism of the war was tantamount to aiding the enemy.
“Those doubts are encouraged, obviously, when they see the kind of debate that we’ve had in the United States,” Cheney stated at the time. “Suggestions, for example, that we should withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq simply feed into that whole notion, validates the strategy of the terrorists.”
The decision to maintain a U.S. presence in Iraq, through the “surge” of troops, only exacerbated the situation, leading to further bloodshed and instability. This created a vacuum that ultimately allowed fundamentalist groups, including ISIS, to flourish and inflict unimaginable brutality upon the Iraqi people. The conflict ultimately benefited geopolitical rival Iran, which expanded its power and influence in the wake of the disaster.
Domestically, the Iraq War eroded trust in U.S. institutions, particularly the media, which was widely criticized for its uncritical promotion of the war. Instead of holding those responsible accountable, corporate newsrooms have largely focused on rehabilitating the reputations of Bush administration leaders in the years since.
From War Hawk to Trump-Era Turncoat
Cheney lived to see his image largely restored, as have many of his neoconservative contemporaries. He became a prominent figure in a growing cohort of Republicans who gained notoriety – and financial rewards – by publicly rejecting Trump.
Driven by a desire to distinguish between a perceived “good Republican” and the populist, far-right MAGA movement, liberal media outlets spent much of Trump’s first term rehabilitating the images of Bush White House officials, presenting them as a de facto “resistance.” However, the motives behind this opposition were likely more self-serving than purely ideological. Cheney, along with his daughter Liz, embraced the opportunity to denounce Trump, primarily by rejecting his “America First” foreign policy – a doctrine that prioritized restraint over intervention, a stark contrast to the Cheneys’ preference for aggressive military action.
The January 6th Capitol riot ultimately forced a more definitive break. Despite his long-held adherence to the concept of the unitary executive, Cheney publicly condemned the attack and became a vocal critic of Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election. His late-in-life embrace of democratic principles – he reportedly voted for Kamala Harris in 2024 – may elicit a more muted response from liberals, but his legacy of bloodshed, destruction, and death demands a full accounting, not a footnote in the biography of a “public servant.”
