Musicians, Generals, and Vets Join in Call for Torture Accoutability, Closing Guantanamo

This effort by a large group of prominent and popular musicians is a welcome development in getting some accountability for torture and for closing Guantanamo more into the public eye.

Musicians, including R.E.M and Pearl Jam, launched a formal protest of the use of music used in conjunction with torture that took place at Guantanamo Bay and other facilities. And they’ve announced they are supporting an effort seeking the declassification of all secret government records pertaining to how music was utilized as an interrogation device....

Also on board united in finding out about the abuse: Jackson Browne, Billy Bragg, Michelle Branch, T-Bone Burnett, David Byrne, Rosanne Cash, Marc Cohn, Steve Earle, the Entrance Band, Joe Henry, Pearl Jam, Bonnie Raitt, R.E.M., Rise Against, and The Roots. The campaign was organized by long time music fan and political organizer Trevor FitzGibbon.

These musicians  support the call under FOIA to release still-secret documentation from CIA, U.S. Special Operations Command, and FBI, among other agencies, pertaining to how the music was chosen and the specific role it played in interrogations of detainees at the base and other detention facilities. On Thursday morning the FOIA requests and documentation will be available at www.nsarchive.org.

The coalition of  rock musicians have  joined the National Campaign to Close Guantanamo which includes retired generals retired Generals Robert Gard, John Johns and former member of Congress Tom Andrews.

VoteVets.org is joining the coalition, and their members, "veterans with experience in interrogations and intelligence are standing with musicians who have joined the National Campaign to Close Guantanamo (which includes VoteVets.org), and hitting back at those who argue that the prison facility in Cuba should be kept open."

"Guantanamo Bay remains an effective recruiting tool for Al Qaida to this day.  The longer it remains open, the longer we'll fail to do all we can to protect ourselves from terrorist attacks.  It is the epitome of everything we could have done wrong in the fight against Islamic extremism -- unlawful detentions without charge and torture and abuse.  We can only defeat ourselves in this battle, and Guantanamo Bay was, and remains, a big step in that direction," said Matthew Alexander, a former senior military interrogator who led the team that found Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, the former leader of Al Qaida in Iraq.  Alexander has conducted over 300 interrogations and supervised more than 1,000.  He is the author of How to Break a Terrorist.

They also re-released this video today, featuring Jay Bagwell, a former counter-intelligence officer who served in Afghanistan

"Guantanamo Bay remains an effective recruiting tool for Al Qaida to this day. The longer it remains open, the longer we'll fail to do all we can to protect ourselves from terrorist attacks. It is the epitome of everything we could have done wrong in the fight against Islamic extremism -- unlawful detentions without charge and torture and abuse. We can only defeat ourselves in this battle, and Guantanamo Bay was, and remains, a big step in that direction."