Speaking of Ben, maybe I'm remembering this wrong but...
Didn't Ben kill everyone in the Dharma initiative at the behest of Richard and, therefore, presumably Jacob?
If so, that seriously calls into question Jacob's "good guy" cred, doesn't it?
My impression is that Jacob doesn't really get involved in the day to day decision making. He makes certain wishes known (candidates, etc) but doesn't really tell them how to go about it. So Ben as leader was able to make his own choices and as long as he didn't kill a candidate Jacob would allow it because that's all part of the test.
