**“Rest in Peace,” Says Iraqi Government Spokesperson Bassem al-Awadi in Eulogy for Former U.S. Vice President**
*By Tom O’Connor | Newsweek | November 8, 2025*
“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,” he added.
Iraqis, however, remain divided on the legacy of that era. A survey published in April 2023 by Almustakilla, the Independent Institute of Administration and Civil Society Studies, the BBC, and ORB International showed that 48 percent of respondents felt their lives were worse off compared to the Saddam era. Meanwhile, 23 percent believed their lives were better, and 29 percent saw no difference.
Other indicators point to a more optimistic outlook under the current administration of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani. A Gallup poll published earlier this year found that 52 percent of Iraqis believed the country was heading in the right direction as of January 2025, a significant increase from 31 percent in August 2023 and just 18 percent in August 2022. Notably, Sudani was appointed amid a political crisis following the unraveling of the previous administration led by then-Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.
Awadi expressed a strong conviction that Iraq’s development across multiple fronts is indebted to the fall of Saddam Hussein, a trend he believes Cheney himself would have appreciated.
“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,” Awadi reflected.
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*Read more at Newsweek.com*
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**Topics:** History
**Keywords:** Awadi, Bush, Cheney, Dick Cheney, Iraq, Saddam Hussein, Sudani
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