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Originally Posted by Lotus

It does not matter for this issue when the deferments started. The fact is that while in office Cheney had a stake in Halliburton's profitablity (without that profitability he could not have been paid his deferments).

So, by your own argument, Cheney had a stake in Halliburton's financial success in Iraq during the war.

You ned to read a little better.

From The Link:

On the other hand, there is a possibility that if the company went bankrupt it would be unable to pay. That raises the theoretical possibility of a conflict of interest -- if the public interest somehow demanded that Cheney take action that would hurt Halliburton it could conceivably end up costing him money personally. So to insulate himself from that possible conflict, Cheney purchased an insurance policy (which cost him $14,903) that promises to pay him all the deferred compensation that Halliburton owes him even if the company goes bust and refuses to pay.