Backpeddling and fumbling – ICANN halts Adult TLD

Earlier this summer ICANN supposedly approved the .XXX TLD. I say “supposedly”, as they are now back peddling quickly.
You may recall some press coverage recently about ICANN and the US government, or more specifically the US government’s influence over the internet. Of course we all know that the ‘net started out as a military network, but that was then. This is now.
It transpires that the US government, which is currently headed up by a right-wing conservative religious freak (Bush) is unhappy with the idea of a TLD for adult content. Considering the stranglehold the US government can potentially bring to bear on the internet, this is a disturbing development.
Earlier this summer the US government decided that they would not hand over governance to ICANN now it looks like they have put paid to the launch of the .xxx TLD.
But on what grounds?
Do they honestly think that by blocking the TLD that they will stop pornography? If they do then they are even more naive and stupid than I thought previously.
Whether you approve of pornography or not is irrelevant. It has been part of global culture for thousands of years. It is not going to simply vanish because a prudish US government (or president) would like it to.
Well ICANN is claiming that they need more time for consultation which is amusing. It’s not as if the .XXX TLD emerged out of the blue. Like every other new TLD the process has been long and arduous.