Chuck [Murphy]'s final [exam for his intelligence analysis class] had only four questions. The first was this: let's say you are a CIA operations officer. You've just captured one of the most important terrorists in the world. You know from other sources that there is a bomb about to go off in two hours in a major American city, but you don't know exactly where. You know that the terrorist knows the details of the attack. Do you torture him? Explain your answer.

Question two made things a little more difficult. You torture the terrorist and he doesn't tell you anything. But you have his wife in custody, too. You know that she knows her husband's secrets. She has the information you need to prevent the attack. Do you torture her? Explain your answer.

Question three is a little more existential. You've tortured the wife, but she's a true believer. She doesn't tell you anything. You have the couple's children in custody. Do you torture the children in front of the parents to force the parents to talk? Explain your answer.

Question four brought the exam all together. Its simplicity and directness were like a punch in the face: you're standing before the judgment seat of Christ. He asks you to explain your actions. What do you tell him?