Gitmo goners

Early, MeTheSheeple posted a short bit by John McCain, who argues that we have to be better than them to win the war on terror. MeTheSheeple meant to come back to that, but could never find a way to put it into words adequately enough.

Fortunately, Carl Hiaasen did it perfectly (Miami Herald, free registration required). His conclusions are aptly stated:

Thanks to the bloody debacle in Iraq, our credibility is shot in the volatile Muslim nations, and beyond. Instead of being praised as liberators, we're condemned as arrogant warmongers.

Even if coalition forces bailed out of Baghdad tomorrow, repairing our international image might require decades of delicate diplomacy.

In the meantime, it's futile to present ourselves as the model of a just and civilized society if we throw out our rules of law -- including the presumption of innocence -- when dealing with suspected terrorists.

In theory, what separates us from the monsters we're fighting is a commitment to freedom and human rights. But a model democracy isn't supposed to imprison a person for years without charges or a fair trial. A model democracy isn't supposed to condone beating admissions out of a suspect.

The ranks of al Qaeda are full of truly dangerous people who should be locked up forever, if not executed. The key is to catch the right ones, and prosecute them the right way.

Unfortunately, getting things right has not been a hallmark of this administration's war on terror. Now would be a good time to start, since the whole world is watching.