Dick Cheney’s Legacy: How the ‘War on Terror’ Opened a Pandora’s Box

Dick Cheney and the Making of a Controversial Legacy

Dick Cheney, who served as defense secretary under President George H.W. Bush during Operation Desert Storm and later as vice president under President George W. Bush during the post‑9/11 era, died at the age of 84. Widely described as George W. Bush’s chief operating officer, Cheney was a leading advocate for the 2003 invasion of Iraq — a decision many critics consider his most consequential and darkest legacy.

The WMD Claims and the Case for War

“There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us.” — Dick Cheney, VFW Convention, August 2002

Those public assertions proved to be false: Saddam Hussein did not possess weapons of mass destruction, and the WMD case became the principal pretext for the US‑led invasion. Militarily, the campaign was swift and decisive — American and coalition forces reached Baghdad within about 20 days. But the post‑invasion occupation quickly revealed deep shortcomings.

Occupation, Chaos and Human Cost

Within weeks of Saddam's removal in April 2003, unrest flared in cities such as Fallujah and Ramadi. In many areas coalition forces struggled to maintain order. Failures in security, governance, the economy and municipal services combined to create a volatile environment that the occupying powers were ill‑prepared to manage.

“Saddam knew his opponents, and killed them. But the Americans, even if they don’t mean it, don’t know who is who. They’ve put us all in danger.” — Abu Kazim, Baghdad shop owner

The Abu Ghraib torture scandal exposed photographs of Iraqi detainees stripped, humiliated and abused by U.S. personnel. Former prisoner Haydar Sabbar Ali described being cursed at, beaten in sensitive areas and left bruised. Cheney publicly condemned the abuses at Abu Ghraib, yet he defended coercive interrogation tactics — including waterboarding — which many intelligence professionals and human‑rights advocates classify as torture and which critics say produce unreliable information.

Longer‑Term Consequences

The invasion and occupation contributed to a series of unintended outcomes: the emergence of violent insurgent groups, including ISIS, mass displacement of civilians, and increased sectarian tensions. Iran, once an adversary of Saddam’s Iraq, gained influence in the country’s post‑invasion politics — an outcome many analysts trace back to the 2003 campaign and its aftermath.

Beyond the human and geopolitical consequences, the economic toll has been enormous. Brown University’s Costs of War Project estimates that post‑9/11 conflicts have cost the United States roughly $8 trillion. Those expenditures — together with the broader economic effects of sustained military engagement — are part of a larger fiscal picture that includes a national debt measured in the tens of trillions.

Assessing Responsibility and Legacy

It would be simplistic to pin the Middle East’s long‑term instability or the United States’ strategic missteps on Cheney alone. He was one influential actor among many in a series of administrations whose policies produced persistent and often tragic consequences. Still, Cheney’s aggressive advocacy for military action, his public certainty about flawed intelligence, and his defense of coercive interrogation helped shape a period of American foreign policy whose repercussions continue to be felt worldwide.

Bottom line: The 2003 invasion achieved a rapid military victory but set off a chain of political, social and security problems that turned into a lasting and costly legacy for Iraq, the region and the United States.