Dick Cheney’s destructive policies still shape today’s Middle East

Dick Cheney, the Republican former vice-president of the United States and a major figure in advocating for and shaping the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, has died aged 84.

Cheney passed away on Monday night as a result of complications from pneumonia and heart disease, his family said in a statement.

The veteran politician will likely be best remembered for his role in the Iraq war, with the US-led invasion widely criticised for its disastrous consequences for Iraq and the wider Middle East.

As Vice President under George W. Bush, Cheney aggressively pushed the narrative that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and had ties to al-Qaeda - claims later proven false. Despite overwhelming evidence and intelligence warnings contradicting these claims, Cheney remained steadfast in promoting the war, dismissing critics and downplaying public skepticism.

Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait paves the way for a US military presence

However, his role in the Middle East began long before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He first rose to prominence as Secretary of Defence under President George H.W. Bush after the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the ensuing Gulf War.

In the aftermath of Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, Cheney was a key advocate for large-scale US military intervention – action that would not only lead to the liberation of Kuwait but also the destruction of Iraq and the killing of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians as a result of war and sanctions.

He personally secured the backing of Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd to host American troops on Saudi soil - a move that would reshape the US military footprint in the Middle East and inflame anti-American sentiment in the kingdom for years to come.

A stubborn advocate of destructive war

Cheney's later role in the 2003 Iraq War was a disastrous chapter in his career, marked by the manipulation of intelligence, misleading public justifications, and a stubborn commitment to war, no matter the consequences.

His personal involvement included challenging CIA analysts and advocating a more aggressive intelligence interpretation to justify war. Even after the war's initial failures and exposure of false intelligence, Cheney continued to assert questionable claims to defend the intervention.

The invasion not only led to massive human suffering - with hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilian deaths and millions displaced - but also destabilised the region, facilitating the rise of extremist groups like Al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Islamic State group that left the country in prolonged chaos.

While the US said it wanted to bring democracy to Iraq after the ouster of Saddam's brutal dictatorship, the effect of its policies was to accentuate sectarianism and communal division.

In addition, under Cheney's watch, US forces implemented "enhanced interrogation" tactics - widely condemned as torture - and presided over notorious abuses in prisons such as Abu Ghraib as well as the killing of hundreds of civilians in Fallujah.

Cheney's legacy in this context is inseparable from the catastrophic consequences that continue to reverberate across the Middle East and the world.

Warnings ignored

Throughout his career, Cheney sought to frame US policy in the Middle East through a lens of American dominance. He travelled to Arab capitals - from Riyadh, to Cairo, to Amman - attempting to rally leaders behind Washington’s wars, and was often met with deep skepticism. Many regional leaders warned that toppling Saddam Hussein would unravel Iraq and empower Iran, predictions that later proved prescient.

Cheney largely dismissed calls to prioritse the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, viewing it as secondary to what he termed the “war on terror.” This reflected Washington’s enduring disregard for Palestinian rights and regional sovereignty, which continues today. Israel was allowed to entrench its occupation of the West Bank while turning Gaza into a big prison camp after its withdrawal from the territory, without any serious rebuke from Washington.

The Middle East pays the price

Iraq is still paying the price of Cheney's policies, with some estimates suggesting that over a million people were killed after 2003, contributing to a continued power vacuum that allowed for extremist groups like Islamic State group and Iran-linked Shia militias to take hold.

Even after leaving office, Cheney remained an unrepentant defender of his policies, despite the mass deaths in Iraq and leading to Tehran having massive control over Baghdad. He condemned diplomatic outreach to Iran, criticised the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq and Syria, and argued that any retreat from the region would embolden Washington's adversaries.

Cheney's worldview was rooted in US exceptionalism and military might and seemed to epitomise the destructive hubris of post-9/11 American foreign policy. His corporate ties, notably as former CEO of Halliburton, which reaped vast profits from Iraq's reconstruction, further deepened perceptions of exploitation and conflict of interest.

In the Middle East, Cheney’s name remains synonymous with war, occupation, and the erosion of sovereignty. Millions across Iraq and the wider Arab world remember him as the man who lit a destructive fuse that still burns today.