Let’s pretend you’re the president of Afghanistan for a second: You govern a nation which still struggles with the insurgency movement of the Taliban. Your citizens have begged you for reform and foreign leaders have labeled your nation as a “breeding ground for terrorist activity.” Needless to say, it’s high time you whip your country into shape. But how do you de-radicalize extremists? Well, if you’re Hamid Karzai, you give them video games.
That’s right, Karzai, the incumbent Afghani head-of-state, hopes to emulate a Saudi Arabian program that aims to rehabilitate terrorists — in Afganistan’s case, Taliban soldiers and leaders. This program submits captured terrorists to positive thinking classes, art therapy, and — most importantly — video games!
While the Saudi government hasn’t disclosed which games are being used to dissuade inmates from violent behavior, the United States remains staunchly critical of the program’s success. This criticism stems from the fact that some of the course’s graduates have returned to terrorist efforts after finishing the purportedly rigorous program. In fact, one participant became the deputy leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and went on to help plan the attempted Christmas Day bombing near Detroit. Will Afghanistan’s program have more success then its Saudi counterpart? Let’s hope so [Telegraph via GamePolitics].