Dick Cheney’s death marks the end of an era in American geopolitics — the hard-charging strategist whose “Cheney Doctrine” reshaped U.S. foreign-policy posture and restored executive-branch muscle has passed away at 84 due to pneumonia and cardiac/vascular complications.
Cheney’s career spanned four decades and several key roles in national security and government. He served as White House Chief of Staff under President Gerald Ford, was a long-time congressman from Wyoming, became U.S. Secretary of Defense under President George H.W. Bush, and ultimately served as vice president under President George W. Bush from 2001-2009.
From the outset of his vice presidency, Cheney held the view that the executive branch needed to reclaim power after being constrained in the post-Vietnam era. He often viewed the presidency as requiring decisive, even preemptive, action in global hotspots. That worldview crystallised in what came to be called the “Cheney Doctrine” or “One Percent Doctrine” — the idea that if there is even a one-percent chance of a threat, the U.S. must treat it as a certainty and act accordingly.
