'I'd do it again in a minute': Dick Cheney unapologetic about War in Iraq 10 years on and defends use of torture to prevent terror

By Katie Davies

PUBLISHED: 18:37 EST, 15 March 2013 | UPDATED: 18:37 EST, 15 March 2013

Former Vice President Dick Cheney says he has no regrets about the War in Iraq and would do it again 'in a minute' in a new documentary which airs tonight - days before the 10th anniversary of the U.S. led invasion.

In the film entitled The World According to Dick Cheney, Cheney says he 'feels good about' the U.S. led action which has cost the lives of  4,488 U.S. armed service members and 134,000 Iraqi civilians.

He also defends the use of torture in the wake of 9/11 including the controversial technique of simulated drowning or water-boarding in the Showtime film.

Unapologetic: Cheney speaks about the War in Iraq in a documentary being aired tonight but says he has no regrets

No regrets: Cheney, left, pictured while serving as Vice President, said he would do the same again in a minute

The film marks ten years since the invasion, which has cost U.S. taxpayers $2.2 trillion to date, according to recent estimates by the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University.

The Republican is interviewed by R.J. Cutler in his film, which also interviews Cheney supporters and detractors including close friend and political ally former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield and former aide David Addington.

'I did what I did,' he says. 'It’s all on the public record, and I feel very good about it. If I had it to do over again, I’d do it in a minute.'

He also says he is unmoved by critics of his ongoing pro-Iraq war stance adding: 'I don’t lay awake at night thinking, ‘Gee, what are they going to say about me now?’'

He adds: 'I don't spend a lot of time thinking about my faults'.

In Iraq: The former Vice President, pictured here in Iraq, said he felt good about the decisions he made

Powerful: The documentary explores the career of the former Vice President and his influence in the Bush administration

Speaking about the post 911 War on Terror he repeats this steadfast confidence in the techniques used by the intelligence services and laws introduced by the Bush administration.

'It was a wartime situation, and it does require tough programs and policies if you're going to be successful,' he said.

'It was more important to be successful than it was to be loved.'

He also defends water-boarding and other techniques used by intelligence services to retract information.

'Tell me what terrorist attack you would have let go forward because you didn't want to be a mean and nasty fellow,' he says.

Anniversary: The film by R.J. Cutler, pictured, is aired just days before the 10th anniversary of the Iraq invasion

'Are you going to trade the lives of a number of people because you want to preserve your honor?'

'I don't run around thinking, 'Gee, I wish we had done this or wish we had done that.' The world is as you find it, and you've got to deal with that,' he says.

'You get one shot. You don't get do-overs. So you don't spend a lot of time thinking about it.'

It explores how Cheney came to wield considerable influence over President Bush and how he became one of the most powerful vice presidents in American history. 

It also touches on his early political career in Congress, rise to prominence in the Ford administration and stint out of politics as CEO of Halliburton.

The two-hour documentary will be aired on Showtime at 9pm ET tonight. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Cutler is well-known for previous documentaries including The War Room and The September Issue. 

'[Cheney] was certainly very generous with his time and supported the making of this film so I'm grateful to him for that,' Cutler said in an interview with CNN.

'He believes what he did in his time in office and over his 40 year career was the right thing. He believes his convictions are the right convictions,' Cutler says.

'My politics are beside the point, this is a film that is examining one of the most significant Vice Presidents - I would argue one of the most consequential non presidential political figures this country has ever known.'