On 9/11, we knew immediately that our resolve would be tested. And so would our determination to maintain an allegiance to the rule of law and an evolved perspective on human rights. Did we pass those tests? Part of the answer to that question comes with the release of today’s much-anticipated Senate report on the CIA’s torture tactics. The report has some disturbing details about the tactics used (secret prison “dungeons,” widespread waterboarding, medically unnecessary rectal feeding and hydration intended to establish “total control over the detainee”), some serious questions about who was in charge (President Bush and Congress were apparently kept in the dark), and some hard truths about what we got in return for our trip down the river towards morality’s heart of darkness (apparently, not much). Here’s the NYT: Senate torture report condemns C.I.A. interrogation program. There will be a lot of political yelling over the next few days. Anyone who presents this as a simple issue should be dismissed as a fool or a liar. Was the torture horrible? Yes, it was. In the weeks and months following the attacks, would most of us have agreed to do anything to prevent another 9/11? Yes. Those are the ethical complexities presented by war. And the answers are much more obvious now than they were then. Today, the details of our actions have been pulled out of the the dungeons and into the light of day, and so we face another test. Can we have a reasoned debate?

+ Here’s the whole 528-page report.

+ The Daily Beast: The most gruesome moments in the CIA torture report.

+ Teachers don’t make much money. Unless they are teaching torture techniques. NBC News: CIA paid torture teachers more than $80 million.

+ The torture report by the numbers (The most disturbing one is 26. That’s how many detainees were being “wrongfully” held by the CIA).