The Inspector General for the Justice Department released the long awaited report on torture (available here yesterday. The report details a high level of concern from FBI field agents that was appropriate passed up the chain of command.

WASHINGTON — F.B.I. agents complained repeatedly, beginning in 2002, about the harsh interrogation tactics that military and C.I.A. interrogators were using in questioning terrorism suspects, like making them do dog tricks and parade in the nude in front of female soldiers, but their complaints appear to have had little effect, according to an exhaustive report released Tuesday by the Justice Department’s inspector general.

The report describes major and repeated clashes between F.B.I. agents and their counterparts over the rough methods being used on detainees in Guantánamo Bay, Afghanistan and Iraq — some of which, according to the inspector general, may have violated the Defense Department’s own policies at the time.

It also provides new insight into the intense debates at senior levels of the Justice Department, the Defense Department and the National Security Council over what should and should not be allowed — a debate in which the Defense Department prevailed.

The inspector general found that in a few instances, F.B.I. agents participated in interrogations using pressure tactics that would not have been permitted inside the United States. But the "vast majority" of agents followed the bureau’s legal guidelines and "separated themselves" from harsh treatment.

On a conference call yesterday afternoon, ACLU legal advisor and former FBI agent Mike German said that those agents "can be very proud" of their actions, but that the FBI leadership failed in refusing to participate in abusive interrogations, an in not providing clear direction to field agents and in acting aggressively to end the abuse.

The report clearly shows that FBI concerns went up the chain of command all the way to the White House, specifically detailing a conversation that then AG Ashcroft had with then national security adviser Condoleeza Rice, specifically about the interrogation of Mohammed al-Qahtani, the alleged 20th hijacker. Last week the DoD was forced to drop charges against him.

An alleged 20th hijacker in the Sept. 11 conspiracy attempted suicide rather than face a Guantanamo Bay military commission and now suffers from such mental impairment that he can't adequately help in his own defense, his civilian lawyer says.

The contention suggests one possible reason the Defense Department last week dismissed charges against Mohammed al-Qahtani, who faced a potential death penalty if convicted in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. At the time, the administrator of the military commissions, Susan Crawford, gave no explanation. Mr. Qahtani remains under indefinite detention, and prosecutors may seek to file amended charges.

In 2002 Mr. Qahtani suffered a severe and prolonged interrogation that a Pentagon review later labeled "abusive and degrading." Some military investigators and prosecutors feared that the coercive treatment had ruined a potential case against Mr. Qahtani, under legal and ethical rules.

What this report most clearly presents is that the "bad apple" theory of Abu Ghraib and of detainee abuse and torture is bunk. This is not about a bunch of low level soldiers and agents getting out of control. It's about policy and actions not only condoned, but decided, at the highest levels of government. The FBI field agents tried to do the right thing. Their leaders stonewalled them, all the way up the chain of command to the White House. The Pentagon even tried to stonewall this report, which was originally completed in October of last year, but held up as the DoD fought to get portions classified.

In the effort to further shine a bright light on the stain of torture, the ACLU is launching its refurbished Blog of Rights with week-long Torture and America Symposium. The ACLU and Glenn Greenwald, who provided the inaugural post today, invited me (my post is here) Eunomia/American Conservative’s Daniel Larison (post here), Christy Hardin Smith of Firedoglake, Nicole Belle of Crooks & Liars, Digby of Hullabaloo, author Paul Verhaeghen, and ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel Chris Anders to participate.