Task Force 141

Earlier this week in Moscow at the Domdedovo Airport there was a terrorist attack which killed 35 people and injured 180 more. Russian Today, Russia's top satellite TV station, has now pointed the finger towards Modern Warfare 2 as the alleged inspiration to this attack.

If any of you have not played this game yet, I suggest you do. In the campaign mode there is a mission named 'No Russian' where you play as Joseph Allen of Task Force 141 and are tasked with joining the terrorist group in killing civilians at an airport in Russia.

Before watching this video be warned. It is graphic.



I can't see any similarities between this mission and what transpired in Moscow. The unfortunate event involved a suicide bomber that snuck past security and made his way to the passenger arrival area. Clearly this was planned out to create a huge message. No one has claimed responsibility but of course they are laying blame on Islamist groups.

This is also the second time in a month that video games are being blamed for allegedly influencing terrorist attacks. Are games really what terrorist are beginning to dub their tactics after? In 2004, in the same airport there were 2 suicide bombers that purchased tickets illegally from staff and detonated aboard 2 different planes killing 90 people. In 1985, Rome and Vienna saw terrorist attacks at major airports. And these happened before the release of MW2.

Obviously the people responsible for this attack had been planning this for some time. They are methodical and very technical with their tactics. I don't think they sat around watching this scene unfold and said "that's how we're gonna do it! But with bombs!" Should we blame Street Fighter for kids getting into fights or Super Mario for idiots wanting to spit fireballs?.

But this isn't anything new as popular media has always been at fault for bad things happening. Superman was blamed for kids wanting to fly off their roofs. WWE has been blamed for kids breaking their necks. The difference here is that these were real people they saw on TV and said if they can do it so can I.

The point is we shouldn't be trying to find blame for violent crimes in video games that depict violent scenarios without the guilty party actually confirming that they were. This is the struggle that is being seen in the US with congress and some politicians wanting to ban games outright. They are seeing games as a gateway into violent crimes and ruining the minds of children and adults alike. Former lawyer Jack Thompson once described them as "murder simulators" and said playing video games were "mental masturbation". There has never been a proven case where someone has been found guilty of murder because a game has told him to do so. You have better luck finding someone who was told to kill people by a dog.

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