In the span of just twenty-four hours, two events unfolded that seemed to bookend an era. On 3 November 2025, Dick Cheney—the chief architect of America’s forever wars—died, bringing to a close the life of a man whose decisions reshaped the Middle East through force, fear, and extraordinary violence. The very next day, 4 November, New Yorkers elected Zohran Mamdani, a son of African and Asian Diasporas and one of the most outspoken critics of United States’ imperial power, as their next mayor. One figure exited the world having built an empire of dominance abroad while sowing the seeds of dictatorship at home. The other entered the global stage offering a radically different political imagination rooted in justice, equality, affordability, a novelty in the American political lexicon, and anti-war ethics. The coincidence of their crossings invites a simple question with profound implications: how is Cheney remembered today—especially in the MENA region he helped devastate—and how is Mamdani being seen as he rises?

The contrast sharpened immediately in Washington. While the White House maintained a conspicuous silence on Cheney’s death—issuing no condolences and making no official comment—it weighed in repeatedly on Mamdani’s victory, offering a mix of cautious praise and political hedging within the same week. That imbalance spoke volumes about the shifting moral landscape as much as about the men themselves. The architect of the War on Terror passed with minimal acknowledgment from the administration, while a progressive, anti-imperial mayor-elect suddenly drew........

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