That is not to say that we should adopt the tactics of our enemies -- and we don't. No one is suggesting that if Zarqawi blows up women and children or tortures and beheads his victims, we should do the same. We are morally superior to our enemy and must remain so. But that doesn't mean we have to confer on our enemies rights they have no legal, much less, moral right to -- for example, formally extending the provisions of the Geneva Conventions to those we capture. Short of torture, which President Bush has made clear we will not use, we should be free to hold suspected terrorists captured overseas for as long as necessary and to use harsh techniques to elicit information.
Instead of backing the administration on this, however, Congress shows no stomach for doing what's necessary. This week, the Senate unanimously passed a defense policy bill that incorporated language first proposed by Sen. John McCain establishing strict guidelines on interrogation methods for detainees, as well as granting appeal rights to some defendants convicted by military tribunals. Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., argued on the Senate floor that such measures were necessary because "This is a war of values," which we can win, "without sacrificing our values." Graham's comments made for a nice sound bite but ignore the dirty reality on the ground.
Zarqawi and his followers won't be dissuaded from blowing up more wedding parties or putting improvised explosive devices into children's toys because we suddenly start reading detainees their Miranda rights and making sure that they're not subjected to sleep deprivation or kept in isolation for too long. And it's naive to think that Muslim fanatics would love us -- or even ignore us -- if only we'd leave Iraq. This war will continue until one side emerges victorious -- and Congress had better get serious to make sure it is not the jihadists.