Gitmo playlist
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The Gitmo playlist,[1] also called the torture playlist,[2] Guantanamo playlist and GTMO playlist,[3] was a loose collection of songs blasted at inmates held by the United States at Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba during the War on Terror. No formalized playlist exists, and songs were chosen by interrogators and guards.[2] Songs played included Metallica's "Enter Sandman", Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name Of", and "I Love You", the theme song of Barney & Friends.[4]
Background
[edit]Jane Mayer linked many abusive practices during interrogations, including the use of loud music, to Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape training, where trainees were subjected to similar conditions.[5] Loud music was employed in interrogations in other American detention centers during the War on Terror, including Abu Ghraib.[4][6]
Use
[edit]Major Diana Haynie, a spokeswoman for Joint Task Force Guantanamo, claimed that the use of loud music on detainees ceased after the fall of 2003.[7] A 2005 Army report found instances of loud music being used in interrogations between July of 2002 and October of 2004.[8]
Reactions
[edit]Many artists were outraged by the use of their music. Tom Morello, member of Rage Against the Machine said in response "The fact that music I helped create was used in crimes against humanity sickens me" and called for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison.[7] David Gray, whose song "Babylon" was used during interrogations, was shocked by the lack of public outcry and said "We are thinking below the level of the people we're supposed to oppose, and it goes against our entire history and everything we claim to represent. It's disgusting, really."[4] Skinny Puppy, after being told by Guantanamo prison guard Terry Holdbrooks that their music was blasted during interrogations, sent an invoice to the American government, inspiring the album Weapon.[9] The National Security Archive, endorsed by artists including Morello, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, and Jackson Browne, filed a Freedom of Information Act request, seeking the declassification of information related to the use of music in interrogations.[10][11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Gitmo playlist sought". The Los Angeles Times. October 23, 2009. p. 90.
- ^ a b Moskowitz, Gary (February 22, 2008). "Torture Playlist". Mother Jones. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ "The GTMO Playlist: Music, Interrogation and the Public". Guantánamo Public Memory Project.
- ^ a b c Smith, Clive Stafford (June 18, 2008). "Welcome to 'the disco'". The Guardian. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Meyer, Jane (July 3, 2005). "The Experiment". The New Yorker.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Cusick, Suzanne G. (2008). ""You are in a place that is out of the world . . . ": Music in the Detention Camps of the "Global War on Terror"" (PDF). Journal of the Society for American Music. 2 (1).
- ^ a b "REM call for Guantanamo closure". BBC. October 22, 2009. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ "Investigation into FBI Allegations of Detainee Abuse at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Detention Facility" (PDF). The Torture Database. June 9, 2005. p. 9. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
- ^ "Skinny Puppy: Music As Torture?". Fuse. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ "Musicians Seek Secret U.S. Documents on Music-Related Human Rights Abuses at Guantanamo". The National Security Archive. October 22, 2009. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Heim, Joe (October 22, 2009). "Musicians seek Guantanamo records on detainee torture". Washington Post. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
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