WASHINGTON ‒ Dick Cheney , one of the most powerful vice presidents in United States history, a chief architect of the war in Iraq after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and a member of an old Republican Party guard that is quickly fading away, died on Monday night.

Cheney , whose death was confirmed by a statement from the Cheney family, was 84.

With his reputation as a war hawk, Cheney helped lead the push under President George W. Bush to invade Iraq based on intelligence ‒ later proven wrong ‒ that Saddam Hussein had amassed weapons of mass destruction.

Tapped by Bush as his 2000 running mate for his decades of Washington experience , Cheney became a top target of Bush critics for the enormous role he played in shaping the administration’s foreign policy.

A Republican congress

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