Recording Artists Demand Song Titles Used in Torture Tactics

Updated

Trent Reznor, Jackson Browne, the Roots, R.E.M., Pearl Jam and Billy Bragg are among the musicians who are demanding the release of records to show what music was played as part of interrogation tactics at Guantanamo Bay.

They are all part of the National Campaign to Close Guantanamo, but their pursuit of this Freedom of Information Act request certainly bolsters the profile of the organization's effort. While their request is not a frivolous one, as Reznor and Tom Morello have reportedly had their music linked to interrogations, the action seems like a savvy way to get attention, particularly in Washington, which is flooded by stars and their causes (for an example, see the reporting on yesterday's testimony by Nicole Kidman and violence against women, where journos had to pick and choose what to cover).

They are seeking information on the specific role of music in interrogation, and how it was chosen. Declassified documents show that the work of Metallica, Britney Spears and rap artists, among others, was used as a way to "create futility" with uncooperative detainees. The org notes that the United Nations has banned the use of music in torture techniques under the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, although it has been unenforced.

Morello said in a statement, “Guantanamo is known around the world as one of the places where human beings have been tortured – from water boarding, to stripping, hooding and forcing detainees into humiliating sexual acts - playing music for 72 hours in a row at volumes just below that to shatter the eardrums."

Others backing the effort include Bonnie Raitt, Steve Earle, T-Bone Burnett and David Byrne. The National Security Archive is assisting the musicians in obtaining the documents. They also are seeking documentation on the strategy of using music as an interrogation device at other detention facilities as well.

Earlier in the week the org announced a new national TV ad calling on Congress to close Guantanamo, below.

R.E.M. said in a statement, “We signed onto the campaign in complete support of President Obama and the military leaders who have called for an end to torture and to close Guantanamo. As long as Guantanamo stays open, America’s legacy around the world will continue to be the torture that went on there.  We have spent the past 30 years supporting causes related to peace and justice – to now learn that some of our friends’ music may have been used as part of the torture tactics without their consent or knowledge, is horrific.  It’s anti-American, period.”

Thomas Blanton, the archives executive director, charged that at Guantanamo, "the U.S. government turned a jukebox into an instrument of torture." He said in a statement, "The musicians and the public have the right to know how an expression of popular culture was transformed into an enhanced interrogation technique."

Their action is also likely to trigger further debate as to whether the use of such music constitutes torture or an "enhanced interrogation technique," an argument still being waged by former members of the Bush administration. Vice President Dick Cheney has defended the Guantanamo methods of interrogation and has argued that its closure would be a risk to national security.

A 2005 Army report on allegations of detainee abuse that was obtained by the National Security Archive reported, "Almost every interviewee stated that yelling and the use of loud music were used for interrogations at GTMO.  On a few occasions, detainees were left alone in the interrogation booth for an indefinite period of time while loud music played and strobe lights flashed.  The vast majority of yelling and music was accomplished with interrogators in the room.  The volume of the music was never loud enough to cause any physical injury. Interrogators stated that cultural music would be played as an incentive. Futility technique included the playing of Metallica, Britney Spears, and Rap music." 

Update: The CIA says that the music was used for security rather than "punitive purposes" and that it was played "at levels far below a live rock band." Also, the National Security Archive's suspected interrogation playlist is here, a familiar list of names and songs ranging from Bruce Springsteen to the Barney theme song.

The AP also cites a Senate Armed Services Committee report into the treatment of detainees in U.S. custody. "In one case interrogators played music to "stress" Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a citizen of Mauritania who has been at Guantanamo for more than seven years, because he believed music is forbidden, the report says.

"Over a 10-day period in July 2003, Slahi was questioned by an interrogator called "Mr. X" while being "exposed to variable lighting patterns" and repeated playing of a song called "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor" by the band Drowning Pool, according to the committee's report."

The use of music was one of the techniques thrown out by the Obama administration shortly after the inaguration, a White House official told the New York Times.