Powell's coming out

AP has a story out (see below) about Colin Powell coming out against Bush's proposal and siding with the three Republican Senators who are also against it. But, as Kevin Drum puts it "It is astonishing that, apparently, only three out of 55 Republican senators recognize something so obvious. It would have been nice if Powell had said this five years ago, but it speaks poorly to the eventual success of our war against jihadism that he has to say it at all".

AP:

Powell said Congress must not pass Bush's proposal to redefine U.S. compliance with the Geneva Conventions, a treaty that sets international standards for the treatment of prisoners of war.

[...]

"The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism," said Powell, who served under Bush and is a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "To redefine Common Article 3 would add to those doubts. Furthermore, it would put our own troops at risk."

[...]

Republican dissatisfaction with the administration's security proposals is becoming more prominent as the midterm election season has arrived. The Bush White House wants Congress to approve greater executive power to spy on, imprison and interrogate terrorism suspects.

[...]

Bush was forced to propose the measure after the Supreme Court ruled in June that his existing court system established to prosecute terrorism suspects was illegal and violated the Geneva Conventions. The White House legislation would create military commissions to prosecute terror suspects, as well as redefine acts that constitute war crimes.