Last updated on January 3, 2023
One cartoon, two versions, about a shocking event in 2009 – President Obama deciding to continue the war. Wow.
I missed the 60 Minutes interview the LA Times is talking about here. (Is that show still on the air?)
Discussing in strikingly personal terms his order to escalate the war in Afghanistan, President Obama said Sunday that sending 30,000 new combat troops was the hardest decision of his presidency so far.
Can you understand now why I get so annoyed with the Times? WTH, “strikingly personal”??? Because he said he felt bad talking to the cadets? Geez, what a revelation.
It goes on:
Critics have said his plan is confusing and contradictory because although it calls for the new deployment, it also sets a July 2011 date to start withdrawing troops.
I don’t know about contradictory, but I’ve found that the best way to broadcast your intentions, leak your war plans, and help out the enemy is to put the details on Twitter, Mr. President.
(another version of the cartoon is after the jump)
CNN says:
In his speech Tuesday, Obama said his strategy had three objectives:
• Deny al Qaeda a safe haven
• Reverse the Taliban’s momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow Afghanistan’s government
• Strengthen Afghanistan’s security forces and government
I hope it works out that way. This is a DayPlanner type strategy, isn’t it.
Does this cartoon make more sense? This is the one up on Slate now, but I think I prefer the first one.
Cartoon caption: RAW MEAT. One way to make military decisions. OR Is this the sign that made Obama order 30,000 more troops?
This seemed like such an obvious cartoon idea to me that I had to rush to draw it right away, for fear some other cartoonist would have the same idea, and beat me to it!! This happens to me a lot. As it turns out, other cartoonists don’t seem to think the way I do. There have been a couple of times when I suspected they copied me – will write about this in the future.
But for this event, I’m the only cartoonist who decided that word games was the obvious corollary to declaring war! Yes, RAW on the truck in big red letters transposed easily in Obama’s office, as he sat contemplating in the Oval Office, to WAR. And as war often has casualties :(, that leaves…dead meat, or raw meat laying on the battlefield.
What is really really strange about this is that after I had written, drawn and posted it on Slate, someone pointed out that meat spelled backwards was almost team; ie, which made it read (backwards) War Team.
I didn’t even think about this, but this happens a lot with cartoons, or my cartoons. Like alchemists turning lead into gold, you have the idea, add the drawing, and then things happen. If you’re lucky.
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