Last week, The Nation blogger Max Blumenthal reported a Pentagon-funded program that sent "kill or convert" video games to U.S. military troops stationed in Iraq.

Blumenthal writes that the program was organized by Operation Start Up (OSU), an evangelical entertainment troupe that actively proselytizes among active-duty members of the US military," and boasts Hollywood actor Stephen Baldwin, magician/comedian Bunny Martin, world champion kick-boxer Charlton Young, and former NFL superstars Keith Davis, David Rocker and Bruce Collie as some of it's organizers, among others.

With the endorsement of the Defense Department, OSU planned to mail copies of the controversial apocolyptic video game Left Behind: Eternal Forces to soldiers serving in Iraq.

The game was inspired by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins' best-selling book series about the battle of Armageddon, in which believers of Jesus Christ fight the Antichrist.

The Left Behind Games website states:

Contrary to misinformation on the web, this game does not include references to any other religion. Also, there is NO killing in the name of God, and NO convert or die missions. All content has been reviewed and approved by Tyndale House Publishers prior to publication.

However, as part of this research, I downloaded the demo of the game in which it does ask the player to convert "non-believers" and to fight/kill "evil-doers".

A video preview of the game can be found here.

The OSU website did not mention the inclusion of the video game but describes the initiative:

We send care packages to soldiers on the front lines of the war in Iraq. We call them “Freedom Packets” because the truth will set you free. Included in each “Freedom Packet” is:

Greeting card
75 Minute Phone Card
White Socks
Baby Wipes (suggested by Col Oliver North)
Gideon’s pocket size New Testament
Extreme Sports “Livin It” DVD
And an assortment of snacks.

We ship them to Iraq free of charge to soldiers. The approximate cost per package is $50. Two items – phone cards and shipping cost – account for approximately half that total amount. Most of the items were donated at no cost to support our troops. Your donation helps us send a clear message that God cares, including their mind, body and soul.

Aside from the inclusion of a Bible and the fact that this is sponsored by government funding, one would think this program to beneficial considering it would send items such as socks and phone cards.

The program was discovered by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, and founder Mikey Weinstein told Blumenthal, "Thanks to the influence of extreme Christian fundamentalism, the wall separating church and state is nothing but smoke and debris. And OSU is the IED that exploded the wall separating church and state in the Pentagon and throughout our military."

ABC news reported last night that, "plans by a Christian group to send an evangelical video game to U.S. troops in Iraq were abruptly halted yesterday by the Department of Defense after ABC News inquired about the program" and that the Defense Department's only comment on the record was that the OSU Tour is "currently not planning on sending any care packages to the troops in Iraq."

Some reactions across the blogosphere:

LunaBean writes:

So, what of this Operation Start Up Tour? Well, any entertainment troupe who counts Stephen Baldwin amongst its most important members has class and legitimacy written all over it. Plus, with OSU's President saying things like, "We feel the forces of heaven have encouraged us to perform multiple crusades that will sweep through this war-torn region," well, how can you think that the games were meant to be anything but a distraction from the stress of war?

From The Flying Fascist:

This proposal should have been given a ‘no’ from the start, not a wise last minute decision by the Pentagon. Mikey Weinstein has been doing a great job keeping the Religious Right at bay from corrupting the military, but the prostelyzation is still a problem. It would only get worse if Left Behind was shipped over to Iraq. Besides, that game sucks.

From Reformed Chicks Blabbing:

I guess the atheists can relax now, they aren't sending the Left Behind game to Iraq.

Blognonymous writes:

The Good News: US troops in Iraq won't be receiving copies of Left Behind: Eternal Forces in care packages.

The Bad News: The Pentagon giving a group that specializes in proselytizing to soldiers and that refers to their activities in Iraq as a "Crusade" access to our military forces.

-----

Contributing Editor Dana J. Tuszke also blogs at The Dana Files.