>And to state the obvious: rationalized calculation and heated passion are
>hardly mutually exclusive.
In his book on torture as developed by the CIA, Alfred McCoy makes the point that passion and calculation can work very well together. Calculation is used to develop techniques that are then carried out by practitioners among any group of whom some are more passionate than others.
The CIA "coercive technique" manuals are online here:
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB122/#kubark