This cartoon is provocative, to say the least.  We have been so influenced by the “support the troops” campaign that it seems inappropriate.  But given the apparent continued cave-ins by the military to the distorted and cruel wishes of the White House, perhaps it is time to start holding the military responsible for the killing and damage they are causing.  Perhaps, if we more strongly remind the members of the military that they work for the American people, not the war criminals in the White House, then maybe, just maybe, the pilot who is ordered to drop a bomb on Iran will refuse to do it!  Remember, “just following orders” is not a legal or moral defense for individual crimes against humanity.

Mr. Barber...do you think that napalm was manufactured in South Vietnam or in the United States?  I wonder.  It’s ok to love your country but don’t pretend that the U.S. has not committed some very serious atrocities throughout our young history as a nation.  The photo depicted in the editorial cartoon above captures one of them.

For nearly four decades, that image has burned a whole in my heart.  Does anyone know if there has ever been an official statement from the US government about our role in Viet Nam (to save the south from communists) now that a united Viet Nam has become a world economy?  My guess is, after Iraq gets their act together (united or not) in a hundred years or so, the US will boast that we made it possible back in the early 2000’s.  To me, it’s all very interesting, to say the least, but not interesting enough to justify what we and the governments of nations we’re “protecting” do to their children.  There’s no reason to believe warring adults will ever stop fighting for the sake of children whose lives they destroy in the process. And that makes us UNCIVILIZED, contrary to how we view ourselves.  We should just admit it as we, with our artificial organs/body parts, sit and watch CNN for stock market results in our half-million dollar houses, drinking whiskey sours, after a day on our $150,000/year high-tech jobs and arriving home in our new hybrid.  Human progress????

In response to Peter “if I shut my eyes hard enough the boogeyman will just go away” Barber about getting the facts straight:

Kim Phuc is running naked down the road with American-made napalm eating holes in her skin.  And your suggestion that South Vietnam was perceived by anybody in the world at the time as being controlled by a legitimate, independent and sovereign government that didn’t acquiesce completely to the demands of Washington is too absurd to argue.

Please let it be noted that the photo on the wall was taken after an air strike in Vietnam. The air strike was made by South Vietnamese pilots in support of South Vietnamese infantry. There were no American service members in the area.

Get the facts straight.

I object to this cartoon.

Yes, the army was complicit in Abu Graib, countless actions in Iraq, etc. 

But, let’s point the finger at those really responsible.  Not the army.  Point the finger where the buck stops.

Redefining with no raping soldiers ! and no children killers in our troops !