Music Stars Demand Records On Bush Administration's Use Of Music For Torture at Guantanamo Bay

A group of prominent musicians are throwing their support behind a campaign to close Guantanamo Bay and are demanding the release of records about what music was used during the potential torture of detainees there and at other facilities. It is ironic that former vice president Dick Cheney is speaking up again and this time he is accusing President Obama of libel against the interrogators. Funny how he is mum on this latest movement. The following musicians are showing their support by joining the broader National Campaign to Close Guantanamo: Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, R.E.M, Pearl Jam, Jackson Browne, Rise Against, Rosanne Cash, Billy Bragg and the Roots. They are joining the effort which is being led by retired generals, progressive groups and a former member of Congress to shut GITMO down.

The more blaring objective of this movement is to cast further light on the potential illegalities that took place at the detention facility.  The group is working to obtain records about why and how music was used (under laws authorized by the Bush administration) to effectively torture suspected terrorists. The musicians have officially endorsed a Freedom of Information Act request for the declassification of all secret government records pertaining to music utilized during interrogations. At least two members of the coalition, Reznor and Morello, have had their music linked to interrogations. If that's the case, then shouldn't the government be paying royalties to these musicians? Gee, how could I forget. Guantanamo is Dick Cheney's idea of the real America, torture and all. The National Security Archives will be officially filing the FOIA request on behalf of the National Campaign to Close Guantanamo (NCCG).

According to the Huffington Post, the FOIA, which is officially being distributed on Thursday, will be sent to the Department of Defense, the Department of the Army, the U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Central Command, U.S. Joint Forces Command, U.S. Army Special Forces Command, DOA Criminal Investigative Task Force, Defense Intelligence Agency, Federal Communications Commission, FBI, CIA, and the Department of Justice. It requests "all documents, including but not limited to intelligence reports, briefings, transcripts, talking points, meeting minutes, memoranda, cables, audio/visual recordings and emails produced by the Central Intelligence Agency concerning the use of loud music as a technique to interrogate detainees at U.S.-operated prison facilities at Guantanamo, Iraq and Afghanistan during 2002-the present."

The use of jarring music during the interrogation of suspected terrorists has been reported in many works documenting the authorization of torture during the Bush administration. At least 20 declassified documents currently exist that reference the use of "loud" music to "create futility" in uncooperative detainees. Among the artists whose music is believed to have been used include Metallica, Britney Spears, the Drowning Pool, Eminem, Bruce Springsteen and the Bee Gees.

The reality is that if the music was used without the permission of the musicians that's just illegal. We can't go on the Internet and download music without paying for it in some manner, then why should Dick Cheney and his cohorts be allowed to do the same, all in the name of torture, I might add.