The emerging field of behavioral public choice theory examines the decisions and decision-making processes of public officials. This article is among the first to develop the field by considering a U.S. national and transnational security issue. The focus here is on key decisions of the George W. Bush administration to change U.S. policy regarding torture of terrorism suspects. The article recommends paths for multidisciplinary scholarship spanning academic and government communities that can generate norms of rational national security decision making.