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Here's another of my favorites from a friend of mine who's very strongly and intelligently pro-Sasuke: May be Fooled but Ain't No Fool. Very encouraging if recent chapters have left you less than idealistic about Sasuke's potential for redemption. Feel free to quote this passage at naysayers.

"Sasuke, I have always believed, desperately wants to be the Good Guy. He wanted to avenge his clan because he thought it was the right thing to do. Now he wants to avenge both clan and brother and all of the lives ruined due to the corruption and filth of the village because it is the right thing to do. Madara's story has restored the honor of Itachi, the clan, *and* Sasuke. Even though the clan planned a coup d'etat, the reason, Madara claims, was due to the oppression of the clan by the village. Their grasp for power makes his family look like freedom fighters rather than terrorists. Sasuke can believe they were In The Right and that Itachi, poor manipulated soul, was simply misguided and used.

Madara is not just offering "the truth." He is offering salvation.

Now try to convince me why Sasuke should see the holes in his argument. Sasuke is not "an idiot" and Naruto shouldn't be able to punch some sense into him. This kid has been traumatized, tortured, lied to again and again, used, possibly sexually molested by snakes, and has the self worth the size of a peanut. Now he has the opportunity to right the wrongs of the past, to do something truly heroic. Not only does he believe avenging clan, brother, and self is a moral obligation, it can allow him to die believing that he is not a failure. Think a few minor inconsistencies will make him deny this chance for redemption? Think again. His alternative is to die in shame and despair. He doesn't want to poke holes in Madara's argument because what would he be left with then? Absolutely no answers, nagging doubt in his previous belief system, and no one who can tell him the truth and nothing but the truth. Everyone has a vested interest in not revealing what really happened and why. Why should he not believe Madara?

And it will only get worse from here. He will have to eventually find out that he is being manipulated once again. His worldview will for the third time come crashing down around him. If he hasn't done broke by now, another betrayal could end up leaving him in a catatonic state."

I'm offering yet another link from livejournal: Zapenstap's Critical Reviews.

Her most recent essay for Naruto chapters #401, 402, and 403 in particular contains some interesting insight on both Sasuke and Itachi's characters.

Experts of note:

"Madara has given Sasuke something to blame for Itachi's demise, the destruction of the Uchiha Clan, and the misery of Sasuke's life—Konoha's elders. Sasuke's decision to confront these people and seek justice for wrongs committed against him and his family is therefore understandable."

"Since the murders, Sasuke has always been the most "aloof" and ninja-esque of Team 7 in the sense of hiding his emotions the best. He has executed the coping mechanism of choosing detachment instead of pain. From the time he was eight, Sasuke has chosen to be cold, about everything and everyone, in order to be the best ninja and do what must be done. Until now he has been unable to grieve, both because he is a ninja and because the object of his grief was the same as his object of vengeance. It is too compromising to cry for the very thing you feel you must destroy."

"It makes sense that Sasuke would go after the elders and Danzou. I don't find that particularly surprising. However, that he expects to do it without additional casualties to the rest of Konoha is a bit worrisome. War simply doesn't work that way, which Kisame points out. Sasuke seems to admit this, but his strategy for avoiding what would inevitably be a great deal of bloodshed is still unclear."

"Sasuke woke up alone in a cave with no friends in sight, only to learn that everything he thought he knew about Itachi was a lie, while Madara—destroyer of the Uchiha and member of Akatsuki—is standing over him, gauging his responses and trying his manipulative best to solicit an aggressive reaction.

It is possible that after hearing what Madara had to say, Sasuke felt his only option was to announce that his next target would be Konoha. I'm sure that Sasuke really does want to question and/or kill the Konoha elders, but he might be bluffing about otherwise not caring about what suffering this campaign will cause the rest of Konoha. Given his position, saying things like "I don't plan to target anyone else" may be his only way of going along but also trying to keep the bloodshed to a minimum."

"Although Sasuke and Naruto are alike emotionally, Sasuke distances himself from bonds in order to get the job done. Sasuke tries to accomplish missions without sacrificing his principle beliefs, but because he lacks human connections, Sasuke may gradually be finding it easier and easier to make sacrifices, a slippery slope that could lead him down the path that Itachi followed, a hellish existence where being a ninja sometimes means having to kill people you love and burying any part of your humanity that objects to it."

Feel free to repost these outside the guild to anyone who's interested in defending Sasuke or just hoping to understand his character better.