WHICH MAKES JIM DALE OUR GENERATION'S TORQUEMADA:

Progress seen at Guantánamo (Liz Sidoti, 6/26/05, Associated Press)

From behind one-way mirrors, lawmakers watched interrogators grilling three individual terror suspects. None of the interrogators touched detainees.

In one session, they questioned a man who defense officials said was a Saudi national and admitted Al-Qaida member who was picked up in Afghanistan and knew nine of the Sept. 11 hijackers. In another, a female interrogator took an unusual approach to wear down a detainee, reading a Harry Potter book aloud for hours. He turned his back and put his hands over his ears.

Bearded detainees in white frocks, flip-flops and skullcaps quietly lingered nearby, although behind fences. At one communal camp for those given privileges because of good behavior, detainees played soccer.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, is one of many Democrats who have called for an independent commission to investigate abuse allegations and said the facility should close. She stopped short of changing her position after the visit, but acknowledged, ``What we've seen here is evidence that we've made progress.''