Sen. Graham also expressed concern that if the United States conducts secret military trials and doesn't show the terrorist-defendants all the evidence used against them, our enemies' tribunals might do likewise in the future, which would cause great outrage in the United States.

It's hard to take Sen. Graham seriously here if he really believes our enemies -- terrorists, North Koreans and other totalitarian states -- will even bother with trials for American soldiers they capture. Besides, if they did conduct sham trials, what difference would it make if they didn't show the soldiers and their fake attorneys the fake evidence they would use to convict them of fake war crimes in fake show-trials before actually beheading them?

Sen. Graham can be so refreshingly sober sometimes, but what in the world is wrong with his thinking on this? Perhaps he's once again under the spell of John McCain, whose credibility on the war took a dramatic nosedive a few weeks ago when he falsely accused President Bush of having misrepresented the costs and duration of the war in Iraq. Nothing could explain such a gratuitous stab in the back other than McCain's insatiable quest for mainstream media adulation and the office of the presidency, or, perhaps, revenge.

It is outrageous and damaging to the national interest for these "maverick" Republicans to align with Democrats in equating American interrogation practices designed to save innocent lives to the conduct of terrorists who target innocent lives.

The interrogation practices, which are not torture and which have already yielded life-saving fruit, are -- in the words of President Bush -- essential to winning the war on terror. In case the interrogation opponents haven't yet figured it out, we cannot successfully prosecute this war without maximizing our intelligence efforts, including these tough interrogation practices. Why must some politicians insist on tying our hands in this war, all on the false premise that by so doing we'll fare better in world popularity contests and thereby spawn fewer terrorists? Their recklessness is breathtaking.

Shame on those politicians and their mainstream media echo chambers for playing into the hands of our enemies.