Ali Hatem al-Suleiman is a 37 year-old Dulaym tribe chief in Iraq, hailing from a traditional tribal culture that is pushing for a larger, more powerful role in Iraqi politics - and succeeding. Al-Suleiman was the founder of the “Awakening” movement, which pulled together and united a collection of Sunni tribes that thereafter forced elements of al-Qaeda out of the Anbar province.

Oh, and he just happens to be an Xbox aficionado in his spare time…. just in case the above qualifications didn’t impress you. Al-Suleiman is a big fan of Black Hawk Down.

The point? This report comes courtesy of USA Today, which goes to show yet again how video games are permeating culture around the world to an extent that the mainstream press continues to find more frequent reasoning for providing either industry coverage or, at the least, more reason to acknowledge gaming’s cultural significance in their “heavier” articles.

Source: USA Today