Combat Rock

Whether it is to psych themselves up or break prisoners down, American troops and law-enforcement agents have a somewhat discordant record of deploying music for martial ends.

— By Clara Jeffery

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September/October 2003 Issue

Whether it is to psych themselves up or break prisoners down, American troops and law-enforcement agents have a somewhat discordant record of deploying music for martial ends.

Continues Below

Continued From Above

SONG OR ARTIST	USED BY	GOAL	RESULT	INSIDE DOPE
"Ride of the Valkyries" by Richard Wagner	U.S. infantry, Ramidi, Iraq, June 21, 2003	Get pumped up Apocalypse Now-style before a raid	Raised specter of Vietnam-type quagmire	And we thought only fictional GIs liked the Ring cycle.
Themes to Barney, Sesame Street; "Enter Sandman" by Metallica	U.S. Army Psy-Ops Company, Iraq, June 2003	Interrogate prisoners about the whereabouts of WMDs	WMDs still MIA	It's not easy being fedayeen.
Celine Dion, Sheryl Crow, Dixie Chicks	U.S."Commando Solo" planes, broadcasting tunes and propaganda into Iraq, spring 2003	Persuade Iraqis they had "nothing to fear" from U.S. invasion	Society unprepared for assault of Titanic theme song devolves into looting	"I'm sure she would be happy to do anything to help," said Dion's spokesperson. Crow, Chicks less sure.
"Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses, as well as Hendrix, Quiet Riot, etc.	4th Psy-Ops Group, Vatican Embassy, Panama City, December 1989	Force Manuel Noriega to leave Vatican Embassy, where he'd taken refuge	A lifelong opera lover, the Pineapple surrenders.	"We received a note from the nuncio protesting either the loudness of the music or the quality, I'm not sure which," a U.S. official said.
"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra, "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus	FBI, Waco, Texas, March 19, 1993	Get David Koresh and his followers to leave Waco compound	FBI later admits sleep-deprived Davidians may actually have been more susceptible to Koresh as a result.	Koresh's own recordings, like "Sheshonahim," more in singer/songwriter/ megalomaniac mode
"Rock the Casbah" by The Clash	U.S. Armed Forces Radio, Saudi Arabia, 1990	Kickoff to Gulf War I	GIs proceed to rock Iraq and roll into Kuwait.	Still asking ourselves, Should we stay or should we go?