Reply #41: Repost since I got no replies ----- From the New Yorker link in the OP

[Jonathan50]

Finnegan, who is a lawyer, has for a number of years taught a course on the laws of war to West Point seniors—cadets who would soon be commanders in the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. He always tries, he said, to get his students to sort out not just what is legal but what is right. However, it had become increasingly hard to convince some cadets that America had to respect the rule of law and human rights, even when terrorists did not. One reason for the growing resistance, he suggested, was misperceptions spread by “24,” which was exceptionally popular with his students. As he told me, “The kids see it, and say, ‘If torture is wrong, what about “24”?’ ” He continued, “The disturbing thing is that although torture may cause Jack Bauer some angst, it is always the patriotic thing to do.”

As you can see from the quote above, it is not just any old trigger puller in country that is using '24' as their justification for abusing Iraqis. Rather it is West Point cadet seniors that are having trouble separating fantasy from reality. If these cadets, arguably our best and brightest in the military, are having trouble ignoring the TV propaganda of '24' then it should be clear that the average trigger puller in Iraq will have even a great deal more difficulty ignoring the TV fantasy.