The Belmont Club looks at an Iraqi capture: "The story is told from two points of view. The first from an American and an Iraqi officer who think the spirit of the rules, rather than the rules themselves should be the guiding principle behind operations. This American officer is planning to retire in 2007. The second is from another US officer who believes that rules, if they are to mean anything, must be strictly followed."

There is a trade-off, and it's not clear where the trade-off should be. Nor even if there should be any gray area.