The rules are required because the rules preserve efficiency--and morale

■"Clear Rules Sought for Abuse by Foreign Troops: Military to Retool U.S. Response Policy," by Bradley Graham, Washington Post, 6 December 2005, p. A23.

■"Rice Defends Tactics Used Against Suspects: Europe Aware of Operations, She Implies," by Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, 6 December 2005, p. A1.

■"CIA Ruse Is Said to Have Damaged Probe in Milan: Italy Allegedly Misled on Cleric's Abduction," by Craig Whitlock, Washington Post, 6 December 2005, p. A1.

I really have to thank Wired magazine for talking me into writing the "Dirty Harry" piece for them last winter. It came just as I was gearing up to write the book, and it forced me to deal with the sorts of questions brought up by this trio of articles. It was a quick, dash off sort of thing, but it forced me to confront the inherent illogic of trying to win by playing dirty against dirty enemies, i.e., we win by extending the Core's rule sets, not by sinking to the level of chaose that we might find in the Gap or that is brought to the Core by transnational terrorists.

The GWOT is just the expression of the Core's combined COIN, or counter-insurgency strategy against the global Salafi jihadist movement: we win by strangling them from above (kill leaders or round them up for prosecution) and from below (drying up their resources and access to recruits). From above it's kinetic (direct ops) and from below it's unconventional warfare (the hearts and minds stuff).

So I worked out a simply formula in BFA: 1) no hunting in other Core states without their cooperation; 2) clear rule set for any Core going into the Gap to hunt bad guys in terms of how we process them once caught.

Break these rules and you get (1) the sad and indefensible spectacle of poor Condi Rice trying to defend torture with the "if-you-only-knew-what-secret-stuff-I-know" defense (the surest sign of bullshit) and (2) pissed off Core allies (we screwed Italy's long-term terror probe by freelancing in their neighborhood and then lying about it to them.

Forget the morality stuff. Forget the torture-doesn't-work-stuff. Kill this whole approach by just asking the question: Is this sustainable for the long fight?

If it's not, then junk it.

And yes, it's that simple.