Pressuring is increasing on Fathi El-Jahmi, Libya’s chief political dissident. Physicians for Human Rights has released a new update on both his case and that of the Palestinian doctor and Bulgarian nurses threatened with death, well, for the crime of being in Libya when Qadhafi needed a scapegoat. I’m no fan of Senator Biden’s foreign policy philosophy normally, but he stepped forward admirably to call for El-Jahmi’s release. Hopefully, progressives will also stand up for El-Jahmi in this egregious case of realism gone awry. This should be a no-brainer for other senators and the Bush White House: We lose nothing by making further rapprochement dependent on the release of these prisoners. And, indeed, we have much to gain by demonstrating to freedom-seekers, dissidents, and liberals that we will not abandon them.