Apparently the Joint Chiefs of Staff object to this cartoon:
Perhaps they didn’t bother to read the name on the end of the bed, “U.S. ARMY”. Obviously this isn’t intended to represent a maimed veteran; rather, it’s a reflection on the current state of our armed forces.
The real “problem” with this particular cartoon is that it’s so damnably effective, much to the chagrin of the Joint Chiefs and the Bush administration. Recruiting is getting tougher, “stop-loss” is hitting its limit, and every day more people are realizing that Bush got us into this Iraq mess without a plan.
What I find most interesting about this is that it exhibits the same kind of “humor” as cartoons coming out of Germany post WW1 (and probably all wars after that too). The one that springs to mind is “Kriegverwändungsfähig” – Fit for Duty by George Groz, Germany, 1918, of course I think his was more a direct commentary on the condition/standing/governments view of the actual troops, but the feeling is very similar. Of course one could make the argument that this drawing makes the same kind of allusions, but hey, it’s art! You decide! Anyways if you want to check it out, here’s the URL.
http://www.greatwar.nl/georgegrosz/groszfitforduty.html
Hi Jim,
The JCOS and The US Army (as well as the other branches of the US armed forces) are tantamount to the same thing.
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.