Stevens and McCain are right. To deny amnesty to every Iraqi insurgent who ever took up arms against U.S. forces would cost lives and postpone peace.

 In war, there is a bright moral line: Don't target civilians. The late Zarqawi and his al Qaeda terrorists obliterated that line. They are war criminals.

 But not all Iraqi insurgents are al Qaeda terrorists. Indeed, Bush's "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq" points to three different enemies in Iraq and three different tactics for dealing with them. These are: 1) al Qaeda terrorists, who need to be "killed or captured," 2) un-repented Baathists, most of whom must be "marginalized," and 3) Sunni rejectionists, the largest group, who "are recognizing that opting out of the democratic process hurt their interests."

 "We judge that over time, many in this group will increasingly support a democratic Iraq, provided that the federal government protects minority rights and the legitimate interests of all communities," Bush's strategy concluded.

 Yet, the Iraqi government reacted in true democratic fashion to the Democrats' outcry against amnesty: It flipped and flopped. Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowafaq al-Rubaie told CNN on Thursday: "We will never give amnesty to those who have killed American soldiers or killed Iraqi soldiers or civilians."

 Then, on Sunday, the Los Angeles Times headlined a story: "Amnesty for Iraqi Rebels is Planned." "We are ready to sit around a table with all the Iraqis, even those who participated in the resistance and now repent that," Abbas Bayati, a Shiite member of the Iraqi parliament, told the paper.

 Tuesday, the Senate voted 63 to 34 for an amendment defensively sponsored by Republican Majority Whip Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. It supported al-Rubaie's vow never to grant amnesty to "terrorists" who attacked U.S. troops. No Republicans opposed this amendment. Then, the Senate voted 79-19 for the sweeping Nelson-Menendez anti-amnesty amendment. All 19 opponents were Republicans, including Stevens, McCain and solid conservatives such as Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma and Jon Kyl of Arizona.

 If al-Maliki can persuade Sunni rejectionists to lay down their arms in return for amnesty, the war will be won, and we may someday see Iraqi Sunnis the way we now see our friends in Japan. But if Harry Reid and company persuade the Sunni rejectionists that we will treat them as war criminals no matter what they do, the war may never be won.