When top congressional Republicans with strong military credentials speak out against torturing detainees in the war on terror, it's difficult not to listen. And when a former secretary of state and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff speaks out, the sound ought to be deafening.

President Bush deserves a lot of credit for taking the offensive against terrorists and terror-sponsoring states. But on the subject of how to treat people who are captured in that offensive, he has been dead wrong. The answer isn't secret prisons and torture. Whatever might be gained through those measures is far outweighed by what is lost. Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war, Sen. John Warner, a former Navy secretary and Sen. Lindsey Graham, a military lawyer, understand that. So does Colin Powell, whose understanding of the matter is exceeded only by his credentials.

In a letter to McCain, Powell said authorizing torture through legislation "would put our own troops at risk." He also said it would add to international doubts about this nation's moral basis for the fight against terrorism.

As we've noted before, the debate over torture is not just a question of how best to protect the civilized world against the cruel and inhumane forces of terrorism; it is a question of how the civilized world ought to define itself.

Any nation that condones torturing prisoners is abdicating a measure of its own claim to a high moral ground. It then loses credibility when it speaks of the need for other nations to respect freedom, liberty and basic human rights.

The president wants a bill that would allow defendants to be tried without having access to classified evidence against them, and that would allow testimony obtained through coercive means to be used in court. Key Republican senators are backing a bill that is considerably milder, which the president has vowed to veto.

Amid all the arguing, it is important to remember that the war on terror involves two fronts. One concerns national security and the need to rid the world of terrorism. The other involves the hearts and minds of people worldwide. If the forces of civilization adopt uncivilized practices in order to win, victory will be meaningless.