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Jewish World Review Feb. 7, 2002 / 25 Shevat, 5762

Andy Borowitz

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CIA USING MARIAH CAREY FILM IN AL QAEDA INTERROGATIONS



Tactic 'Borders on Torture,' Human Rights Organization Howls

http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com --
In a controversial interrogation tactic that one prominent human rights organization says "borders on torture," CIA operatives in Afghanistan have been showing al Qaeda prisoners the Mariah Carey film "Glitter."

The film, which has been put on the "condemned" list by many human rights groups, usually induces prisoners to talk after ten or twelve minutes.

"They usually crack during the scenes in which Mariah Carey plays herself as a teenager," said one source familiar with the CIA interrogations.

A spokesman for Amnesty International, the human rights group, blasted the CIA for using the excruciating film on captured al Qaeda fighters.

"If a nation condones the institutionalized use of Mariah Carey films during interrogations, it comes perilously close to condoning torture," the spokesman said.

In Washington, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld acknowledged that the CIA had been using "Glitter" on al Qaeda prisoners, but offered no apology for this controversial practice.

"There are things one does in times of war that one would not do in times of peace," Rumsfeld said. "Making people watch a movie with Mariah Carey in it is one of those things."

For her part, Ms. Carey could not be reached for comment about the CIA's use of "Glitter," but released a statement indicating that she was happy that the film had finally found an audience.



JWR Contributor Andy Borowitz, a former president of the Harvard Lampoon, is a regular humor columnist for Newsweek.com, The New Yorker, The New York Times and TV Guide. Recognized by Esquire magazine as one of the most powerful producers in television, he was the creator and producer of the hit TV series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and producer of the Oscar-nominated film Pleasantville. He is the author, most recently, of "Trillionaire Next Door: The Greedy Investor's Guide to Day Trading" and "Rationalizations to Live By". Comments by clicking here. Visit his website by clicking here.

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© 2002, Andy Borowitz