A political cartoon reportedly intended as commentary on the state of the Army, published in Sunday’sWashington Post, drew fire from the Joint Chiefs of Staff today.
The cartoon shows a quadruple amputee in a hospital bed with “Dr. Rumsfeld” standing beside him, saying, “I’m listing your condition as ‘battle hardened.’” Below, in smaller type, “Rumsfeld” says, “I’m prescribing that you be stretched thin. We don’t define that as torture.”
The cartoon drew a rare joint letter from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Led by Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and signed by the vice chief and the senior officers of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, the letter addressed what the leaders agreed was a “callous†cartoon. ThePost published the letter today.
While The Post and some of its readers may not agree with the war or its conduct, these men and women and their families are owed the decency of not having a cartoon make light of their tremendous physical sacrifices.
As the joint chiefs, we rarely put our hand to one letter, but we cannot let this reprehensible cartoon go unanswered. — Joint Chiefs of Staff
The cartoonist, Tom Toles, wasn’t at all surprised.
In an interview, Toles called the letter “an understandable response” but said he did not regret what he drew. In thinking about Rumsfeld’s remarks, he said, “what came soon to mind was the catastrophic level of injuries the Army and members of the armed services have sustained . . . I thought my portrayal of it was a fair depiction of the reality of the situation.
“I certainly never intended it to be in any way a personal attack on, or a derogatory comment on, the service or sacrifice of American soldiers.” — Washington Post
Is the military stretched too thin? Is this cartoon offensive, or painfully relevant? Let me know what you think.
See also coverage from Army News Service.
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Karl Marx would love the popular moves among politicians in various state governments and the federal government to ban so-called "junk" food in schools, and to "put healthy food in" convenience stores and on the tables of those they define as poor. It's a very elitist and arrogant mindset that promotes this ideology, and it needs to be addressed.
Ultimately, the war supporters in Congress prevailed in the vote on the resolution. Still, the vote was significant because it places every member of Congress on the record as supporting or not supporting the unconstitutional, costly, violent occupation of a country that never attacked us. This vote should serve as an important reminder to the American people of where their representatives really stand when it comes to policing the world, empire building, and war.
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Dan
Feb 02, 2006
I think the real reason the powers that be in the GWB regime don’t like it is that the cartoon is far too close to the truth.
Mike
Feb 02, 2006
Contrary to popular belief, the Joint Chiefs are not members of any regime. They don’t have a secret phone line directly to Rove’s office, and they don’t deal in politics.
Illustrating a a soldier with no arms or legs and trying to make a political point out of it is very similar, if not the same, as using “the troops” to make political points.
Look, the Chiefs hardly ever write letters to newspapers. The fact that they did here should tell you something.
Ed
Feb 05, 2006
I agree with Dan. It happens to be the people in the administration that live by their use of semantics to contiuously put their own spin on the horrible state of current affairs. Yet, they don’t like it when it becomes obvious that they haven’t duped everyone.
I’ts too bad more people just don’t look deep enough at what’s really going on.
Eric
Feb 07, 2006
Speaking as a Marine who’s returned from Iraq, I found the cartoon amazingly offensive. Sure, it’s his right to pen whatever he wants, but that doesn’t mean he is exempt from criticism for it.
We in the military volunteered to defend this nation. The Marines that served with me had no complaints about the mission (indeed, the single largest complaint was the lack of alcoholic beverages). We are doing great things over there that are *not* being reported. Indeed, reporters are invited to attend openings of schools, water treatment plants, etc., but all they ask about is “where’s the last IED explosion?” They only care about reporting the bad stuff. As a result, what you see back in the States is a never-ending parade of death and destruction, yet it represents a minority of what’s actually going on.
For Toles to use us as some sort of political point in his favor is reprehensible. We are *not* victims! We chose this career, and we support our President and the mission. The single biggest fear we have is that the pantywaists back in Washington will pull us out before we’re done, thus making all the hard work and sacrifice we’ve had to date a moot point. *That* kind of thing is what Toles is trying to get accomplished with his “political commentary.”
Michael Hampton
Feb 07, 2006
Ah, it’s days like today I regret not asking for people’s email addresses.
Eric, please contact me and let me know what the reporters in Iraq are refusing to cover, that people back here at home need to know about.
Ed
Feb 09, 2006
Regarding Eric’s comment, I recently heard a reporter comment on air to the effect that the reason no good news is reported is because it’s just not at all safe to be there or move around the country. His point was that with that in mind, how much good news could there be? The reporter who made the statement had done so in response to a request to comment on the fact that the administration tries to blame the media for not reporting any good news in Iraq.
What I find offensive is the fact that the administration won’t let pictures of returning dead be shown like they were during the Vietnam War, and that we get to see only a few of the returning maimed and limbless soldiers for a few minutes during the 6:30pm news broadcasts only every few weeks or so. Wake up. That cartoonist is one of your biggest supporters. He was speaking up for you, and for your comrades.
It’s a coureageous act to stand up to the administration to try to stop getting you guys killed and maimed over there. Can you honestly say that the President is supporting you and your comrades? There was the “Mission Accomplished” statement for his own PR, improper planning and foresight, insufficient forces, and improper equipment and intelligence. Now worst of all is the fact that in order to save face, the Administration claims that their own Pentagon studies that state that our armed forces are at the breaking point are wrong! Instead, they claim, our armed forces are really just “battle hardened”. That obvious contradiction is what prompted the cartoonist. This is not “some sort of political point”. An Administration that lies to the people of the U.S. and to our servicemen is very serious business.
Some Vietnam vets also felt that they were in Nam to support the President and the “mission”. Yet thirty years later, we all now understand that the anti-war protesters of the sixties and seventies had it right back then. We didn’t fail then for lack of will or for trying, or even because some “pantywaists” pulled us out early. We couldn’t win, after ten years, because we underestimated the mindset and culture of the Vietnamese from the very beginning.
Those 60,000 sons whose names are on the Wall died in vain. Do you want to wake up thirty years from now with the realization that your butchered comrades were butchered in vain for the wrong reasons that you support so dutifully? Do you claim to understand the mindsets and religions of the Iraqi people so well that you can be certain that no matter what we do, they won’t just fall back into the same old traditional zealot-controlled regimes?
If you really think that the cartoonist’s goal was to make “all the hard work and sacrifice we’ve had to date a moot point”, you’re living in a dreamland, and the President will be able to continue to get you to buy whatever he’s selling.
I’m also curious to know what good news in Iraq reporters are refusing to cover, so Id like to see it posted here. I could go on but I’m stopping here because my comment already seems quite lengthy compared to the others.
CPT PArson
Aug 22, 2007
I am an officer in Baghdad today. Our sons and daughters are over here fighting for people to live in freedom. Do you know what freedom is? You take it for granted. Do you have running water? Do you have electricity? Can you go to the market without worrying about your safety? Do you not have compassion for people? I have spent time with Iraqi families and their children, and I see what these insurgents (crime lords) do with innocent people. We are standing for justice. We are not fighting a communist idea like Vietnam, we are fighting agaisnt corruption under the giest of religion. It is a horrible trajedy when each of our Soldier’s are injured. I know all too well the pain. But our job isn’t one of pleasantries, it is one of horror because our world doesn’t stand up for what is right anymore.