Is Pornography a National Security Concern?

Today's article in Christianpost.com raises the issue of why so many Jihadists and those opposed to freedom are, seemingly, addicted to pornography. Indeed, I recall watching video from a reporter imbedded with US Army troops in Iraq and hearing one soldier lament (paraphrasing) 'These terrorists purport themselves to be such holy men, but when we analyze the content of their captured laptops, almost always we find they are filled with porn."

We all recall that pornography was discovered among the items in Osama bin Laden's compound. Also, if one were to research to see what country leads the planet in seeking pornography via internet search engines, they would quickly find that the hotspot of unrest known as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is by far and away the world leader.

The above cited article from Christianpost.com also mentions that child pornography was found on the computer of Naser Jason Abdo (above) who was recently arrested for conspiracy to attack Ft. Hood, Texas with a bomb.

With all theses instances of pornography adding up amongst Jihadists that would seek to do us harm, what affect might such a fascination with pornographic material have on someone? Some excerpts from the article...

"While much of the attention on Abdo’s case so far had focused on his religion, Islam, and his refusal to deploy to Afghanistan due to his religious motivation, the fact that he was earlier charged with possession of child pornography on his computer was apparently being ignored, noted Prof. Bryson, who serves on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Global Engagement.


Pornography is not a necessary or sufficient cause for terrorism, Bryson clarified, “yet pornography now appears frequently in the possession of violent terrorists and their supporters, including Osama bin Laden.” She said she wondered whether today’s “ubiquitous and increasingly grotesque” kind of pornography was “one of the influences warping the mentality of those who aspire to or who actually go on to engage in ever more grotesque public violence.”


..Bryson said there was a need to study the impact of pornography on those who use it, particularly on those who also become obsessed with extremist ideologies.


“So, I wonder, is anyone in the U.S. government tracking and surveying the presence and types of pornography on these media? If we have access to the libraries of the personal pornography preferences of those who support and engage in terrorist violence, we may have a window into the dark corners of their minds. What lurks there? It may be to our own peril that we would ignore this information before us.”


Pornography, she said, could not be seen as a “freedom” issue. “What if we are actually making ourselves less free by allowing pornography itself to be more freely accessible?” she asked.


“Could it be that pornography drives some users to a desperate search for some sort of radical ‘purification’ from the pornographic decay in their soul? Could it be that the greater the wedge pornography use drives between an individual’s religious aspirations and the individual’s actions, the more the desperation escalates, culminating in increasingly horrific public violence, even terrorism?”

What are your thoughts on the subject? Could pornography be a major contributing factor that helps desensitize the attacker and dehumanize the victims in Jihadist attacks?