America Supports You With Apocalyptic Rhetoric?

In a July 2005 PR Watch post, Laura Miller asked whether the U.S. Defense Department's "America Supports You" campaign was an attempt "to boost public support for war and distract ... from criticisms." Turns out, it's even more problematic. As Max Blumenthal reports, the "evangelical entertainment troupe" Operation Straight Up (OSU), which "actively proselytizes among active-duty members of the US military," is an official arm of America Supports You. OSU "plans to mail copies of the controversial apocalyptic video game, Left Behind: Eternal Forces to soldiers serving in Iraq." The game is based on the Tim LaHaye/Jerry Jenkins books, and players must "kill or convert ... non-believers left behind after the rapture." They're also mailing English and Arabic versions of the evangelical book More Than A Carpenter, "ostensibly intended for proselytizing efforts among Iraqi civilians." OSU will head to the Mideast for a "Military Crusade in Iraq." As OSU leader Jonathan Spinks explains: "At no greater time is our military acceptant of the principles of God and prayer, than when under extreme danger and concerned about their loved ones at home."