November 7, 2007: As if
fighting the Global War on Terror was not difficult enough, the troops are now
facing a loss of freedom in their choice of reading material. This censorship
effort is coming from a number of anti-pornography groups who are not happy
with the results of a Pentagon policy banned hard core porn, but allowed
magazines like Playboy and Penthouse to stay in military exchanges.
This is not the first time
such a problem has arisen. In 2004, an effort by an Oregon porn shop to send
porn to troops was shot down. The military does restrict porn in some areas,
but often for cultural and political reasons. This is particularly true in the
Middle East.
Iraq and other Moslem nations
are much more socially conservative than the United States. In fact, Saudi
Arabia's religious police make the Religious Right seem like social liberals.
Over in Bahrain, the rules are looser – as long as what happens in Bahrain
stays in Bahrain. Many Saudis head over there to indulge in vice. It keeps the
clergy in Saudi Arabia happy, and it keeps the Saudis who can get to Bahrain
happy. It also is a matter of order and discipline – vital things needed in a
combat zone.
But for areas where such
things are not a problem, the DOD has allowed Playboy to remain on the shelves.
Part of this is because of the fact that some rules are harder to enforce. Some
troops will attempt to sneak stuff in (at least one soldier quoted in Al
Santoli's oral history "Leading the Way" brought a Sports Illustrated
Swimsuit Issue into Saudi Arabia and used it to calm down Iraqi prisoners).
There is also the Internet – and Internet access for the troops means that they
can surf the web and get porn (as many Americans do at home).
This of course, did not sit
well with religious groups at home. They have launched an e-mail and
letter-writing campaign to get Playboy tossed (as the State Department did in
2005). And so the troops find themselves fighting to protect the right of
people to try to deny them the right to choose their own reading material. –
Harold C. Hutchison (haroldc.hutchison@gmail.com)
