re: It's a different Cheney.
What apparently happened is shortly after the first Gulf War Chenney, Wolfowitz and crew all believed Saddam would be overthrown or killed within a few months. When it didn't happen they started to second guess themselves about not marching on to Baghdad and finishing him off. As the years rolled on and they saw Saddam continue to consolidate power and become more belligerent they decided if they ever regained control of the executive branch they would remove him the first term.
Anyone who denies this is 100% FOS.