I've been meaning to get around to writing a rather lengthy treatise on the techniques used on three top al Qaeda terrorists in 2002 and 2003. Unfortunately, exigent circumstances -- the mass layoffs at the Union-Tribune and my need to find a new job -- have conspired against me.

In lieu of that well-written and insightful piece, I give you these two articles on the subject:

• First, Michael Scheuer, not a President George W. Bush apologist, had this article a few weeks back in The Washington Post. The link has been sitting in a browser tab for weeks, but its relevance is timeless. The headline says it all: "Say It's Osama. What If He Won't Talk?" How many American lives is Osama bin Laden's comfort worth? Pray we don't ever have to find out the answer to that question.
• Second, is this piece by Victoria Toensing, pointing out that most of the people out on the warpath demanding the heads of Bush administration officials appear not to have troubled themselves to read the memos.