UPDATE: Kotaku has the response from SITE Intelligence, and they stand by their report.
Wow. I'm not sure if terrorists Bethesda should be upset that they're not being credited for their work, or flattered that anti-terror groups felt their work was on par with that of infamous violent fanatics across the world. As reported in the British Telegraph, via GamePolitics, the levelheaded and meticulous folks over at the SITE Intelligence Group presented the following image as "created by extremists as part of discussions about the feasibility of nuclear strikes against the US and Britain."
Chilling! Except the image was actually created by terrorists Bethesda Softworks, the terrorists developers of Fallout 3, a terror attack game taking place in a post-nuclear-apocalypse America, which can be seen here, complete with manifesto copyright info at the bottom.
Let's back up and look at this rationally for a moment. Yes, this is crippling to morale and makes the people who are meant to be protecting us look like fools. Yes, this demonstrates a lack of intelligence from a purported "intelligence group." Yes, it is hilariously tragic, and I'm sure the good terrorists folks at al Qaeda Bethesda are having quite a laugh right now. Beyond the obvious humor in this situation, what does this mean to America and its constant battle against those who hate freedom for no reason?
Best-case scenario: The Fallout image was spotted on a website known for anti-American tendencies, and a SITE staffer jumped the gun without doing any research, erroneously believing that terrorists had access to detailed computer simulations of a nuclear holocaust. How could they have access? Fallout 3 isn't due for release until Fall 2008.
Worst-case scenario: Terrorists really are planning to nuke us, and for their latest propaganda piece, used some existing art to depict their end goal, not caring where it came from. We should probably stay vigilant.
The important thing to remember is not to overreact in either case. The most likely answer is that this is a simple case of mistaken identity and/or gun-jumping on the part of SITE. Terrorists are not involved in the games industry, Fallout is not an al Qaeda recruitment tool, and there is nothing resembling a conspiracy here. I'm sure SITE would agree with me! We can ask them ourselves, by contacting them at -- wait a minute.
SITE Intelligence Group
4938 Hampden Lane
Suite 156
Bethesda, MD 20814
Holy shit. It's all connected. This is not a drill, people! Orange Alert! I want to see duct tape, hoarding, and surrendering of all basic human rights, now!
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