Posted on 02/01/2006 3:31:44 PM PST by RWR8189
NEW YORK A Tom Toles editorial cartoon published in The Washington Post on Monday and on its Web site has drawn a very rare and very strong protest letter to the editors from all six members of The Joint Chiefs of Staff, E&P has learned.
The letter, not yet published by the Post, charges that the six military leaders "believe you and Mr. Toles have done a disservice to your readers and your paper's reputation by using such a callous depiction of those who have volunteered to defend this nation, and as a result, have suffered traumatic and life-altering wounds. ... As the Joint Chiefs, it is rare that we all put our hand to one letter, but we cannot let this reprehensible cartoon go unanswered."
A Pentagon spokeswoman confirmed the contents of the letter to E&P late this afternoon. That the newspaper had received such a letter was first reported on the popular AmericaBlog site, which is run by John Aravosis, this afternoon.
The spokeswoman said a letter from all six joint chiefs to anyone, let alone a newspaper, is rare, but the cartoon so offended them, they wanted to let their feelings be known. "It was expressing their disappointment with the paper and outrage at using that image to make a political point," said Lt. Col. Diane Battaglia. "That is a rare occurrence, but the level of inappropriateness prompted a response of unanimous support."
Battaglia said Post editors told her office that the letter would be published in Thursday's paper. Editorial Page Editor Fred Hiatt declined to comment on the letter. "My policy is I can't talk about letters until we publish them," he told E&P. "If and when a letter runs, I'd be happy to talk about it."
Reached by E&P, Tom Toles said, "no comment."
The Toles cartoon shows a soldier, a quadriplegic, in a hospital, being visited by a Dr. Rumsfeld who is scribbling on a form. Rumsfeld says, "I am listing your condition as battle hardened." At the bottom a smaller figure of the doctor adds, "I'm prescribing that you be stretched thin. We don't define that as torture."
The letter, signed by Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Edmund P. Giambastini, Jr., the vice-chairman, and the four other military branch leaders -- and addressed to the Post's managing editor, Philip Bennett -- reveals that they were "extremely disappointed" in the Toles cartoon. "Using the likeness of a service member who has lost his arms and legs in war as the central theme of a cartoon is beyond tasteless," they wrote.
They observed that the paper is "obviously free to address any topic," even use exaggeration. But they added: "While you or some of your readers may not agree with the war or its conduct, we believe you owe the men and women and their families who so selflessly serve our country the decency to not make light of their tremendous physical sacrifices."
Aravosis from AmericaBlog told E&P: "Now that the Joint Chiefs have addressed the insidious threat cartoons pose to our troops, perhaps they can move on to less pressing issues like getting them their damn body armor."
A dozen?
Is that all?
Anyone can run for office.
Winning is another matter.
You have not supported your assertion in your first sentence. Therefore, I am free to believe that your last thought rises from the fact that you happen to personally agree with the slant offered by the source.
As a professional historian, do you often weigh the worth of a source based on whether or not the source agrees with your opinions? Somehow, I think you do -- so as a historian, your own worth is questionable.
I am counting the days until the Old Grey Whore and the LA Slimes also run it.
2, 4, 6, 8, organize and smash the state megadittoes.
Good for them. They're a small minority who sense a political advantage, and are willing to take it. I've been in the Army over 10 years, and I'll tell you right here and now that Toles point is neither accurate nor appropriate. You'd be hard pressed to find someone to say it is, unless they're running for office with a (D) behind their name.
My dad knew Mauldin slightly, served in the same theater. He says that all of his cartoons are true.
When Mauldin was so ill and dying, his son mentioned to a columnist from the Orange County Register that the only thing that made him brighten up and take an interest was notes from his old dogface buddies. So the columnist organized mail and personal visits from veterans -- they were coming in relays to shake Mauldin's hand and reminisce with and for him. My dad lives in S.GA - too far for him to go to get to California - but he and one of his buddies sent Mauldin a card and some old photos. It was such a tremendous outpouring of affection and support for the creator of Willie and Joe. The Master Sergeant of the Army made a special trip out with a couple of helpers to give Mauldin a promotion to MSgt on his deathbed. So much for the idea that the Army doesn't take care of its own . . .
Lol! Big difference, huh?
Yep.....they put that BS up in the top three club and they'd be the ones leaving without limbs....
Stay safe !
There are other ways to make this point if you truly think our leaders are not doing enough to protect our troops. You liberals seem to forget every day that this is war and there are casualities in war!
There are other ways to make this point if you truly think our leaders are not doing enough to protect our troops. You liberals seem to forget every day that this is war and there are casualities in war!
I tend to agree with you. The quadraplegic soldier is being used as a symbol for the military which is at least somewhat overstretched. It's extremely tasteless to use the soldier like that, but really just incidental. Rumsfeld is the one being ridiculed in this cartoon as being overly rosey.
Good stuff, Jo ~ Thanks!
OK, that's really funny. And so spot-on.
Well observed.
Ooh... I like your style ping!
Reality check.
If Toles had a son or daughter in the military would he have drawn this?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.