From all available evidence, the only thing being tortured in connection with the Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners at Guantanamo is the logic of the United States' intemperate critics. A leading Spanish newspaper compared the detainees' conditions to those of political prisoners tortured by former communist regimes in Eastern Europe. Screaming British tabloid headlines accused U.S. forces of "brutality" and "monstrous inhumanity." The facts don't support such overblown charges, and American authorities need to do a better job of countering the international criticism.

One way of deflating the hyperbole is to keep the Cuban detention camp open to full scrutiny by legitimate international observers who can report accurately on conditions there. We further our broader goals by living up to the letter and spirit of the Geneva Conventions -- and by giving the world the information it needs to judge the prisoners' conditions for itself.

The original outcry was fueled by photographs -- made available by the Pentagon -- showing the prisoners bound and blindfolded upon their arrival at Guantanamo. The restraints were a necessary precaution during the transport of suspected terrorists from Afghanistan, and they were removed once the prisoners were placed in their cells in Cuba.

As for the prisoners' current treatment, representatives of the British Foreign Office inspected the camp and declared that the allegations of torture and abuse are "completely false." The prisoners were reported to be receiving proper hygiene and medical attention. Their three meals a day conform with Islamic dietary laws, and U.S. authorities have gone to great lengths to allow them to practice their religion.

Legitimate questions can be raised about some aspects of the prisoners' treatment. The sides of the prisoners' chain-link cells are open to the elements. U.S. authorities say the prisoners will be housed in fully enclosed cells once they are built. In any case, the temporary conditions do not appear to be inhumane.

A more serious question involves the prisoners' legal status. While U.S. officials insist that all detainees are being treated in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, they have delayed classifying any of them as prisoners of war, which would ensure their rights to civilian trials or courts-martial rather than military tribunals. Al-Qaida members suspected of involvement in terrorist plots against the United States do not deserve POW status. However, there is broad international agreement that Taliban fighters who were part of Afghanistan's armed forces should be designated as POWs. U.S. authorities need not wait until the status of every detainee is determined to commit themselves to the broadest legal protections for those prisoners.

Such intense international concern for the treatment of the Guantanamo prisoners surely is galling to millions of Americans still shaken by the Sept. 11 war crimes that precipitated our military involvement in Afghanistan. Some of the Guantanamo prisoners may have participated in the plot to kill thousands of innocent Americans, and the world wants to know if their pillows are soft enough. Still, it is in our government's interest to show sincere concern for the prisoners' humane treatment. For one thing, we want to maintain the moral authority to demand humane treatment for any future American POWs. More broadly, as the war against international terrorism continues, we should take every opportunity to show the world that great democracies hold themselves to high standards, even when they are at war with terrorists who have committed the vilest depravities.

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