Daily Mail: Pop Stars Tell The U.S. Military To Stop Using Their Songs To 'Break' Terror Suspects

[Hissyspit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1093505/The-Britney-bludgeon-weapon-torture-Pop-stars-tell-U-S-military-stop-using-songs-break-terror-suspects.html

The Britney bludgeon, a weapon of torture: Pop stars tell the U.S. military to stop using their songs to 'break' terror suspects

By MAIL FOREIGN SERVICE
Last updated at 1:22 AM on 11th December 2008

In the hands of a teenager with a powerful set of speakers it is a lethal weapon.

Popular music played at extreme decibel levels will already have been judged torture by many a parent.

But a phenomenon that did no more harm than widen the generation gap has suddenly taken on more sinister overtones with reports that ear-splittingly loud music has been used as a 'sonic bludgeon' by the U.S. military against prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.

Human rights groups are protesting that blasting tracks such as Britney Spears's Baby One More Time and Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. into cells at high volumes for hours on end can cause the inmates longterm psychiatric problems.

Now the musicians themselves have joined the fray, furious that their songs are being used to 'break' suspected terrorists.

Bristol-based band Massive Attack and Tom Morello, guitarist with U.S. group Rage Against The Machine have joined a campaign against the practice.

According to an FBI memo, one interrogator at Guantanamo bragged that he needed only four days to 'break' someone by alternating 16 hours of loud music with just four hours of silence.

The practice has been used often in the 'war on terror', with U.S. forces systematically playing loud music to hundreds of its detainees. Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez, the former U.S. military chief in Iraq, said the aim was 'to create fear, disorient . . . and prolong capture shock'.

Ruhal Ahmed, from Tipton in the West Midlands, underwent excruciating 'music torture' sessions at Guantanamo. He said his hands were tied to his feet, which were shackled to the floor, forcing him into a painful squat for periods of up to two days. 'You're in agony,' said 27-year-old Mr Ahmed, who was released without charge in 2004.

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Ethiopian-born Londoner Binyam Mohammed, 30, now a prisoner at Guantanamo, said men held with him at the CIA's 'Dark Prison' in Afghanistan ended up screaming and smashing their heads against walls, unable to endure any more. 'Plenty lost their minds,' he added.

The new campaign is a joint venture between musicians and the human rights group Reprieve, which represents 30 inmates at Guantanamo. There are plans for minutes of silence during concerts and festivals to raise awareness of the issue.

One of the more unlikely protesters is Bob Singleton, whose song I Love You - sung by U.S. children's television character Barney the Dinosaur - has been used to 'torture' detainees.

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[Abq_Sarah]

1. I guess

It would be embarrassing to learn the endless repetition of your song was the key to breaking a prisoner and obtaining a confession. I know if I had to listen to Britney Spears for 16 hours straight, I'd be willing to confess to anything just to get them to shut it off.

[aquart]

2. It IS torture. And genuinely physically painful.

[gtar100]

3. The arrogance of the military mind in action.

They want the glory of protecting America's freedom but somehow end up acting like stupid, fucking assholes. There can be great honor in being a soldier and an officer. But it's not a given simply by being one. Those who have violated prisoners in so doing have violated their own dignity and honor by their participation. They are now damaged as well. Unfortunately, they will be returning to a society that has a hard time recognizing such mental deformities because of America's glorification and obsession with violence.