Videogames Used to Train Terrorists? 265
kalpatin writes "Reuters reports that videogames are being used to train terrorists. The title Counter-Strike is apparently being used as a tool to prepare individuals for a mission: blowing up an oil tanker. The ultimate goal is to 'make the strait of Hormuz impassable, the Jomhouri-ye Eslami daily reported. About two-fifths of globally traded oil passes through the channel. The game illustrates a warning by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said in June that oil exports in the Gulf region could be seriously endangered if the United States made a wrong move on Iran.'"
Guns used to train terrorist too.... (Score:5, Interesting)
-Rick
Video games suck as training. (Score:5, Insightful)
I think that we should support any terrorist who wants to use a video game as "training". It will make them that much easier to capture.
Re:Video games suck as training. (Score:5, Insightful)
You want to learn to shoot? Spend 8 hours a day in shooting positions snapping in for a week. You want pressure and anxiety? Get arrested in Tijuana.
-Rick
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Hezbollah showed the world that terrorist organisations both have this kit and the capability to use it. No need to play silly first person shoot-em-ups. In fact the question nowdays is not an "if it will happen", it is "when".
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including these guys? [americasarmy.com]
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Which can make sense.
Nope. (Score:5, Informative)
Nope. They won't learn anything more about tactics than they would reading a book.
To train tactics, you have to practice the tactics with your team. Video game characters all have the same characteristics. People do not. The biggest differences are speed and grace/clumsiness.
And that doesn't even address the issue that most terrorist's "tactics" at the moment are "strap on the bomb, walk to the target and detonate yourself". If you're in a CS-type firefight, you've already fucked up the mission.
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It's not REALISTIC, of course - CS:S is more of a shoot'em'up type game. Perhaps America's Army would be a better represnetation of squad combat. But just the same, I play p
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The Army and USMC seem to disagree, as they have reasonably well-developed pilot programs to use COTS videogames and adapt them to serve as squad-level tactics simulators. It's not the only form of training, of course, nor will it ever take the place of actually crawling around in the mud, but there is evidence that it's better than classroom-only instruction.
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Him: "I need to learn to dodge and evade."
Other: "Didn't they teach you that in the military?"
Him: "Not with a keyboard and mouse."
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Re:Guns used to train terrorist too.... (Score:5, Funny)
Pacman trains potential terrorists to avoid TSA guards in twisty airports, surviving indefinitely by eating crumbs off the floor if you have to (my first time on O'Hare, it may as well have been a maze).
Frogger teaches potential terrorists to hide amongst crowded streets until they are ready to deliver a lethal payload to a densely populated area.
I won't even get started about Elevator Action.
Time Pilot trains potential terrorists to crash your plane into larger aircraft when they're too drunk to shoot straight.
Terrorists use Tetris to learn to lay down acoutic floor tile over hidden trap doors to hide even more games^W training software from authorities.
Centipede trains terrorists to destroy entire trains, one car at a time. The bombing in Spain was performed by a terrorist who had a console cabinet of Centipede in his garage.
Dig Dug provides a methodic exercise for Terrorists to develop complex subterranean networks by which to pump deadly nerve agents into unsuspecting groups. This video game was implicated in the Sarin gas attack in the Japanese subway several years ago.
There are several other known, but classified, examples perpetrated by the terrorist group Ar'Qaida, who have set up several cells masquerading with fronts such as "Chuck E. Cheese" and "Dave and Buster's". Be alert. Be vigilant. The Computer is not your friend.
Re:Guns used to train terrorist too.... (Score:5, Funny)
MS Flight sim to train kamakazie jihadist. We all know how well that worked. "WTF DOOD, THERES NO MOUSE! WHERE IS F6, I NEED THE CHASE PLANE VIEW TO FLY THIS TUB"
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If you want to make a funny comparison, for some easy slashdot karma, you should have compared video games to toilet paper or food and water - items also used by terrorists during training yet are for the most part harmless. Gun evoke hysteria with many in the slashdot crowd.
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2) Gun control is a legitimate concern.
My point was not to be funny, so much as point out the apparent irony. We blame games for violence yet we allow children and unstable people have access to fire arms. Not necessarily tied to Terrorism, but I got kinda tweaked this morning when I heard about yet another school shooting where a high school kid with a troubled past took his father's gun and shot the principal. I can't say for sure, but I would be willing to guess that as a non-mili
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Re:So what is a "right move on Iran"? (Score:4, Insightful)
Is this just a counterstrike map? (Score:3, Interesting)
If so, where can we get it, it sounds like fun!
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Awww, it's not that hard to get on. All you have to do it write "Kip Hawley is an Idiot" on a plastic bag and bam. You're on the list
Welcome to the club
(note to self... must start selling "Kip Hawley is an Idiot" T-Shirts and profit!)
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I wish the article would have included more information about the game itself, because it really isn't clear exactly what they're talking about. It could be a standard CS map, some sort of mod for CS or another engine, or a compleatly independant game. The rest of the article is of limited value when it's not clear wh
AA (Score:5, Funny)
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WTF? (Score:2, Insightful)
Insane bastard writers article
Posts article
Slashdot picks it up
???
Profit?
I swear if someone is training this way they are about as dangerous as your average DnD player with a sharp pencil.
Re:WTF? (Score:4, Funny)
I would also need to be able to find guns lying around...
Other than that it would be exactly like the game and I'd be an ace terrorist.
??? = Advertising. n/t (Score:2)
-Rick
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Why, YES! (Score:5, Interesting)
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Yes, but in AA, you can never be the terrorists. Your team always appears in US issue clothing, and the enemies in hoods and masks. Obviously, it can't be used for training terrorists then.
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The games do not pretend to teach marksmanship. They generally are used to re-enforce squad t
Hope so (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Hope so (Score:5, Funny)
Terrorist 1: d00d these guys are camping.
Terrorist 2: fuxing n00bs. use noob stick gogo pwn them.
Terrorist 1: OMG lag!!! they r using som hax. cia clan sux i'm out.
Terrorist 2: *shoots terrorist 1*
Terrorist 1: why u TKing??? fag
Terrorist 2: gg no re
Games vs reality (Score:2)
Ok, ignoring the important aspect... (Score:3, Insightful)
That said, of course, if the US had a copy of their mission, they'd know the plan and how to guard it pretty well.
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Please.
Videogames do not train you how to shoot a gun. They don't teach you how to handle yourself in a lifethreatening situation. They don't help make you run faster.
They are a good teambuilding exercise, but certainly not a core piece of developing a person into a deadly machine.
That said, that title/summary is very very misleading. The article should have been - 8 independant game developers create CS like game with more realistic terrorist target. No where in
CounterStrike? (Score:5, Funny)
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I used to spray Mr. Goatse with the caption "I fucked you" whenever I'd get a particularly sweet kill.
LK
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In other news (Score:3, Funny)
Free yourselves from the potential dangers of terrorism by burning all your TP!
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I am Cornholio!
Are you threatening me?
It's propaganda, not training (Score:5, Insightful)
I strongly doubt that the Iranians would not use Iranian special forces to accomplish such a mission and instead use a 15 year old kid who played the game two times. Instead they want the kid to join the Iranian military or just shut up about the poor Iranian economy.
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Attacking Iran is quite possibly the worst mistake the U.S. could make.
Iran wouldn't just bottle up Hormuz, they'd have their extremist buddies throughout the Middle East attacking oil pipelines and refineries. Not to mention they'd start shunting serious money to the insurgents in Iraq & Afghanistan.
Oil prices would spike, violence would escalate, 2 countries would be further destabilized...
There's a reason the U.N. is telling A
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You assume that our representatives have US in mind. See, while it would be bad for the American People, it would not be bad for say.. the director of an oil company.
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Or is that just unintentionally funny... Your post could easily be about the news story about the game and not the actual game itself.
Re:It's propaganda, not training (Score:5, Funny)
There are some serious spelling errors here. You misspelled "American" as "Iranian" and "the USA" as "Iran".
Train? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's a friggin' game. A lot of US-made games show conflicts in areas in the Middle East. Oooh. Terrorist training!
MOD UP (Score:3, Insightful)
Real Terror (Score:3, Interesting)
Of course, the US has sent a nuclear aircraft carrier, the Enterprise, to the region, possibly to confront Iran directly [google.com] - the Enterprise as instrumental in "Operation Praying Mantis" [wikipedia.org], the largest surface naval battle since WWII, between the US and Iran in the Persian Gulf in 1988. So the threats are flying thick and heavy in both directions.
But this is no videogame. The people who will die and get maimed will be real. Everyone has to look away from the screens and at the reality to see that this story is part of the propaganda war between the US and Iran, and recognize our own roles perpetuating and even escalating it.
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FTA: "The game, "Counter Strike", invites players to plant two bombs on the oil tanker to sink it and make the strait of Hormuz impassable, the Jomhouri-ye Eslami daily reported."
Reuters didn't even remark on the videogame called "Counterstrike" so popular in the US and elsewhere. It just picked up an Iranian report, entirely likely just propaganda vaporware, and created a story about it.
I didn't say that Reuters was "a controlled Ira
Denial (Score:2)
Anonymous denial Cowards battle curiosity with ease, refusing to "s
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To make matters worse, I pointed out how Reuters was just reprinting an uncorroborated story floated by an Iranian propaganda outlet, which underscores the US/Iran(/UK) cooperation in terrorizing us.
And to seal the fate, I pointed out that this alleged videogame is so far vaporware, pissing off all the gamers who got their hopes up.
US proud to announce another step against terror.. (Score:5, Funny)
For far too long, food has been aiding and abeting terrorists all over the world. It makes them stronger and healthier, keeping them in a dangerously potent condition. Studies conducted throughout history show that as stockpiles of food decrease, the morale and will of an enemy grows lower. We cannot afford to lose this vital tool in the war for freedom.
I hereby ask all Americans to voluntarily discard any food they are in possession of before it falls into the hands of the terrorists. Food has betrayed us by helping our enemies, and we can show no quarter. Remember, if it's not with us, it's with the terrorists.
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Piggybacking (Score:2)
Food used to train terrorists!!! (Score:2)
I pray the government will legislate against food ASAP! If you aren't against food, you are for terrorism!
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So what? (Score:5, Interesting)
The US have plenty of "antiterrorist" video games.
The US have plenty of nukular weapons.
Why are the yankees allowed to have video games and not the iranians?
Why are the yankees allowed to have nukular weapons and not the iranians?
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"America's Army" videogame is the same thing (Score:3, Interesting)
..
In contrast, Doom is about blowing up monsters while remembering not to use the rocket launcher in enclosed spaces, and you get to use cool weapons like a BFG-9000.
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Well at least (Score:2)
U.S. training terrorists? (Score:2)
(For those thinking to mod me Troll or Flamebait, look up the word sarcasm)
How many have read the article? (Score:5, Insightful)
As for a potential cultural aspect of this? I'm sure some Islamic groups make an uproar anytime Muslims are shown as "terrorists" in popular western games. It happens on both sides, just because you only see one side of it doesn't mean that the other side is sitting still.
For God's sake, these are the same people who burn churches and embasseys when a cartoon comes out of their main prophet, do you really think CS missions like Arab Streets simply go by unnoticed in their culture.
The bottom line is that no one is banning a single thing (that takes care of about 20% of the posts I've read so far), no one is doing anything different today than they have in the past and...
VIDEO GAMES STILL SUCK FOR LEARNING HOW TO USE FIREARMS!!
Let's not take this too seriously. There's nothing substantial to see here aside from people who are making this into something that it simply isn't.
I support this all the way... (Score:2)
Awesome. I couldn't ask for a better combat simulation... except maybe frogger.
So now we'll have to be on the lookout for terrorists standing hovering in the air with 1" of their feet touching hanging signs, making 100yd headshots with Mac10s, and never using grenades since they only kill in about a 5-10' radius? Or maybe they'll just buy an AWM and shoot it into the side of a mountain our guys are behind, hoping to hit one with the amazing 50' of stone-penetrating
I hope they are training with CS (Score:3, Interesting)
First of all, lets talk about weapons.
M249 SAW, IRL this is the best weapon at the squad level. High cylic rate, accuracy like an M240 but light enough to easily run with, has a bipod. Great for 3-5 round bursts. You could say that an M4/M16 with an M203 attached might be overall more versatile, but still not so great at killing people. In CS, an M249 is the worst weapon you can choose, IRL the best. Don't argue with me on this, I've shot in excess of 10,000 rounds using an M60, and several thousands using both the m16, m4, m249 and M240G (was a machine gunner while active duty).
CS teaches people nothing about trigger pulling, breathing, good shooting form, proper ways to rush, pegging a target, etc. There is no concept of rolling in CS, no idea of the prone position, and the list goes on and on.
CS teaches nothing about operating at the true squad tactics in urban/MOUT operations.
Night vision in CS? lol. The US is so experienced at night ops, we actually want to do operations then.
Tactics? jump in, bunny hop, squat shoot strafe, squat shoot. I'd love to see some fundies try that against the US marines/army. They'll get those 40 virgins alot sooner lol.
Iran should keep in mind, their core competentcy is in terrorism and spouting anti-semetic hogwash, not confronting enemies in a real state vs. state conflict on the battlefield. It isn't like Israel is ready to drop the bomb on them already.
What next? Dune 2? (Score:2)
Counter-Strike?! (Score:3, Insightful)
I'd think a better "training" tool would be a Rainbow Six/Rogue Spear type game, where the object is to succeed without the enemy getting a shot off.
This is total FUD BS. Oh noes! Teh terrorists are using verbal speech to perfect their terrorist tactics!!! Must ban verbal speech!!!1!
How did this transition from terrorism to Iran? (Score:5, Insightful)
As for terrorist groups, the tactical mission of closing the Strait of Hormuz is completely out of reach, and even if it weren't, how's Counterstrike going to help them plan? I imagine that sea-borne terrorists would use light boats or diving gear and place improvised mines into the narrow shipping lanes. So how do you propose they use Counterstrike to plan their mission?
Right, you have no idea. That's because this story, like many others, gets written before anybody thinks about it. This is written simply because it fits the convenient script according to which "They're evil and they're plotting" - which is scare tactic that's supposed to make it easier for us to abandon our freedoms and turn them over to the government.
America's Army... (Score:2)
Why hasn't anyone made a stink about "America's Army"? I remember thinking that game was so cool because we could go online and find real soldiers using real military tactics that we could test our skillz against. (Then I realized they were so predictable, they sucked worse than 10 year old noobs and the game got dull.) Wouldn't a game that teaches western combat doctrine with players from the real military be a much more effecti
bin Laden already ordered this. Not much happened. (Score:2)
Bin Laden ordered Al-Qaeda to attack oil facilities several years ago. To date, the attacks consist of an attempt to drive two cars through the outer perimeter fence of a Saudi oil refinery. [cnn.com] Two suicide bombers set off their explosives and started a small fire, which was quickly put out.
Constitutional Endrun? (Score:2)
Sounds good to me (Score:2)
Yes, of course (Score:2)
as_oilrig (Score:2)
Maybe we can show them how to boost through the ceiling. It would be fun to watch Ashad trying to boost his fellow mate through the ceiling
Flight Simulator (Score:3, Interesting)
*looks around confused* (Score:2)
FUD & hypocrisy (Score:2)
F#$% Reuters for running this lame ass article with no context, poor research, and sinister implications.
I'm going to assume for the sake of argument that we're talking about a multi-player game here.
How many such games produced in the west allow you to kill Muslims/Arabs/Chinese/Vietnamese/Germans/etc... and blow up their strategic assets?
How many of the gamers who play those games give an ideological shit which side they're playing on? (that's a good question, but I suspect that in the West, and certain
Re:Not Surprising, and it's already being done (Score:4, Interesting)
In fact, killing civilians ends the game instantly; the game is far MORE sensitive to charges of terrorism than many pro-American so-called anti-terrorist tactical FPSes.
Re:Not Surprising, and it's already being done (Score:5, Insightful)
Personally I'm of the opinion that if you are in someone else's country illegally as a member of an occupying army, then it's right, proper and decent of the local population to take potshots at you for any reason they so desire, but this is heading down the road of offtopic flamebait so I'll stop here.
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What is fearmongering using terrorists for political purposes?
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"Republican"
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Should they be required to march ten abreast and lead with fife and drum?
Seriously, there are civilian targets and there are military targets. Attacking a soldier on duty is pretty clear-cut which it is. The Other Side is always The Bad Guy anyway.
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Nope, in the USA, it is only war if Congress declares it so. No one else has the power to declare "war" but them.
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"As I recall there have been PLENTY of wars well before the US Congress got around to declaring one"
Nope, only "conflicts". Again, in the US only congress can officially declare "war". (This was designed to thwart chicken hawks like our current president with checks and balances. Remeber way back when when we still had those??) Our actions in other countries have no bearing on whether or not a legal "war" has been declared.
"It was a war for quit
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Jack Bauer or Jack Shephard?
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Re:"Counter Strike?" (Score:4, Interesting)
Basically, it looks as though Reuters have simply translated an article from another language, tried to understand what the hell it was going on about, and printed the results. They've missed that the game isn't a new Iranian game called Counterstrike, but (presumably) a mod for the existing game of that name.
But it's the third to last paragraph that really shines for me...
A popular U.S. game, called "U.S. attacks Iran" or "Assault on Iran" and made by Kuma Reality games, revolved around a special forces mission to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities.
Err... couldn't decide how to tranlate the name back to English, so decided to use both possible translations, eh?
Anyway. Kuma games. I've only ever heard of them once before, and thought the review was rather fun [nielsenhayden.com].
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