"Not so fast, Christian soldiers": Pentagon's disturbing relationship with private evangelicals

[Bluebear]

It's time to actively strip the so-called war on terror of its religious connotations, not add to them. Because religious wars are not just ugly, they are unwinnable. And despite what Operation Straight Up and its supporters in the Pentagon may think is taking place in Iraq, the Rapture is not a viable exit strategy.


....Last week, after an investigation spurred by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, the Pentagon abruptly announced that it would not be delivering "freedom packages" to our soldiers in Iraq, as it had originally intended.

What were the packages to contain? Not body armor or home-baked cookies. Rather, they held Bibles, proselytizing material in English and Arabic and the apocalyptic computer game "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" (derived from the series of post-Rapture novels), in which "soldiers for Christ" hunt down enemies who look suspiciously like U.N. peacekeepers.

The packages were put together by a fundamentalist Christian ministry called Operation Straight Up, or OSU. Headed by former kickboxer Jonathan Spinks, OSU is an official member of the Defense Department's "America Supports You" program. The group has staged a number of Christian-themed shows at military bases, featuring athletes, strongmen and actor-turned-evangelist Stephen Baldwin. But thanks in part to the support of the Pentagon, Operation Straight Up has now begun focusing on Iraq, where, according to its website (on pages taken down last week), it planned an entertainment tour called the "Military Crusade."

Apparently the wonks at the Pentagon forgot that Muslims tend to bristle at the word "crusade" and thought that what the Iraq war lacked was a dose of end-times theology. In the end, the Defense Department realized the folly of participating in any Operation Straight Up crusade. But the episode is just another example of increasingly disturbing, and indeed unconstitutional, relationships being forged between the U.S. military and private evangelical groups....

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-aslan22aug22,0,4674900.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail

[YOY]

1. "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" , My GAWD I hate that game...

They're gonna buy so many f***ing copies the company that made it will keep pouring bad games that don't sell and flood the market with more fundie games...that rate horribly and no one really plays.

Just out of curiousity...what the fuck are they supposed to play it on? Does the standard GI get a laptop that lets them install games???

[Joe for Clark]

2. the Rapture is not a viable exit strategy.

That is one of the best lines I have ever heard.

Joe

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Great bumper sticker. nt

[Joe for Clark]

5. You know your right - it really is -

Send it to him - he asked us to send him ideas - you got the same email from him - right?

I like it.

Joe

[BlooInBloo]

4. 4 years into it? It's *now* time? Fuckwads.