After 9/11, Dick Cheney took the reins in America. The 'war on terror' was his idea, and it led to real wars in Afghanistan and Iraq - and to the torture he approved and defends. While Cheney is writing a memoir to influence how people see his role, the rest of the world would just prefer to get on with cleaning up his mess - with him out of the picture.

Dick Cheney has bought a house in McLean, an upscale community in the largely rural state of Virginia. Although it's conveniently located near Washington, D.C., it somehow seems far removed from America's bustling capital. Eight U.S.  presidents have been born in this state, and it just might be that Cheney sees himself as standing shoulder-to-shoulder with them since, after all, he has also served as president - for three and a half years. Or perhaps it'd be more accurate to say that George W. Bush served as president under Cheney, looking after odds and ends, while Cheney took care of the big picture. Dick was responsible for America's strategy in the 21st century.

Cheney is busy writing a memoir. Given the fact that he is a highly secretive man notorious for keeping a tight lid on things, this has raised some eyebrows in America. He is someone who asked questions or silently listened and took notes for his personal use after many meetings in the White House, at the Pentagon and at CIA offices. He is the ultimate insider - and someone who places little value on recognition from the general public.

In writing a memoir, a man like this is motivated by more than a high opinion of himself. The little that we know about the memoirs comes from those of his faithful followers who have been given the green light to leak that Cheney is using his memoir to set straight a few things that he thinks have been skewed. He blames the unfortunate turn of events of the past few years on George W. Bush, the man who greatly disappointed him during his second term in office by ignoring his advice. As Cheney reportedly sees it, Bush showed moral weakness and failed to realize that the focus of all considerations needed to stay on the "war on terror." This was an unforgivable error of historic proportions, which - as Cheney has been saying publicly for months - Barack Obama is prolonging out of ignorance.