Salvation through extermination

With all the emphasis the U.S. has put on teaching its armed forces to respect the cultures of the people they’ve been sent to kill, who wouldn’t crave a bit of holy war in their downtime? Thank Heaven, then, for Operation Straight Up, a fundamentalist Christian group sending Pentagon-endorsed care packages to Americans on duty in Iraq and Afghanistan that include copies of Left Behind: Eternal Forces—the video game that sends armed Christians out to slaughter the infidels.

OSU has begun a “military crusade” with the stated goal of bringing soldiers “the Truth.” Not the one about Iraq having been invaded for oil, but the one about Jesus. With the U.S. Defense Department’s blessing, that truth includes fragging non-fundamentalists.

Already condemned by Christian and Muslim groups for the message it sends—as well as by gamers for just being bad—the game will let relaxing armed forces members to escape reality by prowling an urban environment hunting enemies, many with Muslim names.

The OSU has enjoyed close ties with the Bush regime for some time and was recently invited to visit Pentagon employees.

by Scott Saxon