It’s Called ‘War Porn’--The Modern Snuff Films

I didn't know this stuff existed in this day and age. Certainly not with such high demand and availability.

It's truly shocking to hear stories of this kind of behaviour, especially with the troops who are supposed to be protecting our "freedoms".

What do you all think of this?

War has always been a turn-on, its thrill as old as mankind itself. It is intense; it is raw; it is primal. It reaches into every nerve, so carnal it borders on the sexually erotic. And many who cannot participate want to watch.

It’s called war porn.[1]

As a way to bypass blockages placed against credit card purchases placed from Iraq and Afghanistan, soldiers swap their own footage of enemy kills with sexual pornography sites, in exchange for X-rated videos. Military personnel regularly submit thousands of these' snuff videos’ enhanced with heavy metal rock music; the more graphic the footage the higher the rating attributed by website viewers.

When the pictures from Abu Ghraib were published, the Pentagon worked overtime to claimthe abuse of prisoners as isolated incidents carried out by a handful of aberrant military personnel. Whilst clearly apparent that the majority of military personnel do not find pleasure in killing, it is nevertheless indisputable that the demand for war porn photographs and videos prove an endemic euphoria from the humiliation, degradation, and death of the enemy.

With Abu Ghraib came an onslaught of personal videos to YouTube and war porn websites such as www.gotwarporn.com. Millions of hits by viewers anxious for more merely reinforce their popularity. In 2004, 30,000 soldiers had registered with one website alone.[2]The US military has done nothing to close the sites, brushing the videos aside as impossible to trace, despite specific GPS co-ordinates, times, and tracking data clearly visible on the tapes. Only one website, www.nowthats#edup.com, was shut down by the local Sheriff of Polk Country, Florida, who prosecuted the site’s owner for obscenity.[3] The Pentagon has otherwise seen fit to let the sites stand, evidence of ‘boys will be boys.’Centcom spokesman Matt McLaughlin said that although the Geneva Conventions prohibit photographs of detainees or mutilated bodies, the military "has no specific policy on taking pictures of the deceased as long as those pictures do not violate the aforementioned prohibitions."[4] The Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Congress nor White House has stepped in to put a stop to these explicit videos, and not a single troop has been disciplined for disseminating the materials.

The phenomenon serves a valuable dual purpose. Trading war footage for sexual footage contains desire. On the ground far from home, computer sex means that troops are less compelled to seduce - or worse attack - young village girls for relief, historically a norm in battle. Now it is all available online, straight to their personal computers in the desert.

Read the rest of this story here.

~Keeper

Damn.

I'm totally one of those guys who watches hours on end of "war porn".

Though not in a while because I'm pretty sure I've seen it all. lol

It's just another big *sigh* towards what I thought about humanity before reading it.

It's disgusting, it's tasteless, it's vulgar, disrespectful and horrific.

This kind of thing will end up legitimising forms of social pathology if left unseen to.

"Boys will be boys"?... spare me.

Remain Vigilant.

reply to post by bonsaisert


I agree, it's very sad.

I wonder what drives these people to want such a thing. I can understand from a curious standpoint, but from a sexual one?

Twisted.

~Keeper

I just want this damn war to end. Hearing about these things effect me mentally, more and more, day by day. We are a strange animal, obsessed with our destruction, and bent on bringing it about.
Disgusting.

The History channel is shoing more and more uncensoredwar footage from WW2 , if you wat to see hell tune in to that, no more do e have to guess why so many VETs return home dmged goods.
No rules in war.
Bring on peace.

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
reply to post by bonsaisert

 

I agree, it's very sad.

I wonder what drives these people to want such a thing. I can understand from a curious standpoint, but from a sexual one?

Twisted.

~Keeper

The article said that the war footage is being exchanged for porn by soldiers. It didn't say that anyone is using the "war porn" for sexual purposes.

I've been around the fetish community's block a time or two and I've never heard of a war footage fetish.

Not saying it doesn't happen; there's as many kinds of sexuality as there are people on Earth; just saying I've never heard of it and I probably would have by now if it was remotely popular.

$0.02

TheAssoc.

Edit: Grammar.

[edit on 29-5-2010 by TheAssociate]

If the enemy is well aware of the extent to which Americans love and embrace death…what possible motive does he have to remain silently passive, and not attack them?

As if this is solely an American phenomenon.

Obscenity laws, in my mind, are more damaging to our society than this alleged "War Porn".

Also, who pays for porn? I thought it was all paid for by ads.

reply to post by TheAssociate


I've been there as well. But if there are huge websites as the article says (I have not visited the links provided for those websites) then in some way it would be tied into sexuality.

We all know there are very messed up people, pedophiles, murderers, seria killers, who love to torture or see people getting hurt.

Pain fetish is out there, this to me, is just a couple of steps above that.

The soldiers may be trading for porn, but why are the others trading porn so they can watch death?

~Keeper

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
reply to post by TheAssociate

 

The soldiers may be trading for porn, but why are the others trading porn so they can watch death?

~Keeper

If I understood the article correctly, the owners of porn sites are trading the footage for access to their for-pay porn. My guess would be that they're selling access to the footage to people who want to see it, for whatever reason:

It is also useful propaganda, support of US troops essential to the ongoing occupation. Whereas in wars past it remained the role of government ministries and media platforms, propaganda is now conveniently dispensed by those directly involved in the fight. War porn enables voyeurs to not only sense the gratification should they enlist to the cause, but enforces a hoped for success in a war against terror. War sells, war porn really sells, and peace is not good for the defence industry business.
(source)

Some may be using it for sexual purposes, but I think it's probably more geared toward people who like to think they're Rambo.


TheAssoc.

Some call it "war porn" I call it gun camera footage.

I am totally against war, especially these wars for the profit of a few evil lizard men.

The only reason I would fight or support war is if we were actually under attack, and or getting invaded.

I think it is important for people to see what is going on. Maybe if people were forced to watch all the carnage, there might be less support for the brutality of modern warfare.

This is disgusting.

The army shouldn't be killing people and recording it so possible recruits can see if how "gratifying" it is. I don't agree with them using killing as a form of entertainment.

Why not just kill your enemies and let them keep their dignity, and just give recruits a army simulation game to play instead? This is only going to make people think that the US army is full of cold-blooded killers who think murder is lolfun.

It's things like this that make me anti-war.

reply to post by tothetenthpower


So, this is in essence, a new black market item, done in trade.

As if there was not enough killing going on already on both sides of the battlefront.

I am highly surprised no one in the Pentagon has attempted to shut this crap down.

And for anyone who believe the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law will go away easily, here is a prime example of what people within the military hierarchy are willing to ignore.

This is not only not a good idea, it also shows America from a perverted side, to everyone in the world, and this kind of seriously screwed up mentality will get our military in trouble on so many levels that it's not even funny.

This is how a serious lack of military discipline rolls down hill from the top.

I wonder what level of awareness Obama has about this new black market.

Hmmm....not too many here outraged over AQ videotaping the execution of their prisoners.....

I've always wondered why the military lets soldiers carry cell phones.

I can just picture them texting their girlfriends during a fire-fight.