diff --git a/roles/base/templates/iptables/iptables b/roles/base/templates/iptables/iptables
index 527842b3b6..a629688a82 100644
--- a/roles/base/templates/iptables/iptables
+++ b/roles/base/templates/iptables/iptables
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 -A OUTPUT -m state --state RELATED,ESTABLISHED -j ACCEPT
 
 # if the host is external, block some ips
-{% if datacenter != 'iad2' or external == 'true' %}
+{% if datacenter != 'iad2' or external %}
 -A INPUT -p all -m set --match-set blocklist src -j REJECT
 {% endif %}