THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

They may only be small ones, but it's a start.

The Senate delivered President Bush its strongest rebuke yet on the conduct of the Iraq war, voting 98-0 to pass a defense policy bill that codifies the treatment of military detainees, establishes new legal rights for terrorism suspects and demands far more information from the White House on the progress of the conflict.

The measure's controversial provisions must still win passage in the House, but they mark the Senate's most dramatic foray into war policymaking and a challenge to the administration, which has issued a stern veto threat. The Senate rejected a Democratic resolution that would have pressured the administration to outline a plan to draw down U.S. forces in Iraq, but, by a 79-19 vote, lawmakers approved a weaker Republican version that insists on regular reports to Congress detailing the military's progress toward the goal of bringing the troops home.

The White House has strenuously objected to most measures that restrict its conduct of the war, especially a provision authored by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) that establishes strict guidelines on interrogation methods used on suspected terrorists. The White House says the McCain language is too broad and could preclude methods that fall well short of torture but may be necessary to elicit vital intelligence.

But an overwhelming, bipartisan majority of the Senate contended that Congress had to intervene to help re-establish the moral high ground for the United States in the administration's campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Two roads to the moral high ground would be through restoration of habeas corpus and impeachment.