THE VERDICT: "The Fiction Behind Torture Policy," by Dahlia Lithwick, Newsweek, 4 August 2008, p. 11.

Bit on Jane Mayer's book, The Dark Side and Phillipe Sands' Torture Team, leading Lithwich to declare, "it quickly becomes plain that the prime mover of American interrogation doctrine is none other than the star of Fox televisions, "24," Jack Bauer."

More:

As Sands and Mayer tell it, the lawyers designing interrogation techniques cited Bauer more frequently than the Constitution."

Sort of a WWJBD philosophy—as in, What would Jack Bauer do?

It is one sick piece of slick journalism by Lithwick. Very Susan Faludi.

Reminds me of my "Dirty Harry" piece for Wired back in 2005.

I guess I show my roots—and age.