A Tribute from Iraq to Dick Cheney

Newsweek ^ | Nov 8, 2025 | Tom O’Connor

[CondoleezzaProtege]

"Rest in peace," Iraqi government spokesperson Bassem al-Awadi said in a eulogy for the former U.S. vice president shared with Newsweek. "Without delving into the intentions behind actions, the change that took place in Iraq under your leadership and that of President Bush in 2003 was profound."

"Despite all the events that followed, the transformations Iraq witnessed after the fall of Saddam’s regime were vast and astonishing, though many have tried to distort them to serve their own interests," Awadi said. "The numbers are remarkable, Mr. Dick Cheney, and too many to list here."

Iraqis are even more divided on the matter. A survey published in April 2023 by Almustakilla, the Independent Institute of Administration and Civil Society Studies, the BBC and ORB International showed 48 percent saying their lives were worse off in comparison to the Saddam era, with 23 percent saying it was better and 29 percent saying there was no difference.

Other metrics indicate more optimism under Sudani's administration. A Gallup poll published earlier this year found that 52 percent of Iraqis believed the country was heading in the right direction in January, up from 31 percent in August 2023 and just 18 percent in August 2022, two months before Sudani was appointed in the midst of a political crisis that unraveled the administration of then-Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.

Awadi, for his part, felt staunchly that the nation owed its development on various fronts to the fall of Saddam, a trend he believes Cheney himself would appreciate.

"Modernity, elegance, fashion, décor, restaurants, malls, and companies, how beautiful it would have been if you had visited Baghdad before your passing to see where it once was and what it has become," he added.

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TOPICS: History
KEYWORDS: awadi; baghdad; bush; cheney; dickcheney; iraq; iraqwar; saddamhussein; sudani

[bankwalker]

then how do you explain ‘96 when the big-eared parasite popped up again after hiding for 4 years?

[dfwgator]

Dole was a weak candidate as well. And Jack Kemp was pathetic.

[bankwalker]

and Perot worked for Clinton, who was weaker than all of them ...

[ETCM]

Iraq also had a robust chemical/biological weapons program. Weapons inspectors identified not only stored anthrax, but 7 ballistic missile warheads with anthrax and 50 aerial bombs. They also had sarin, cyclosarin, tabun, mustard gas and a powdered form of VX.

[ChessExpert]

Thanks.

It was already established that Hussein (that would Saddam, not Barack) used chemical munitions against civilians. At least ten thousand murdered is my recollection.