Cartoon offends U.S. sensibilities

An award-winning cartoonist for the Sacramento Bee newspaper has offended the sensibilities of a number of Americans with a cartoon that appears to suggest the terrorist attacks against the United States were payback for U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

The cartoon, which was published by the newspaper yesterday, was created by Rex Babin. It is based upon a Vietnam-era photo of 9-year-old Kim Phuc, photographed naked and running away from an area that had just been bombed by jet fighters.

In his cartoon, Babin includes the image of Phuc and other children in the photo with background images of a New York City street that was becoming overcome by dust caused by the collapse of one of the World Trade Center towers.

Both towers collapsed Tuesday morning within an hour of being struck by two separate airliners that were hijacked by terrorists and intentionally flown into the structures. The Pentagon was also struck Tuesday, shortly after the WTC twin 110-story towers.

“In the wake of the epic tragedy America has suffered, the callous political stretch of Rex Babin is reprehensible. He should hang his head in shame and deserves the contempt of all,” commented WorldNetDaily radio host and columnist Geoff Metcalf, who spent 20 years in Army Special Forces after joining towards the end of the Vietnam War, in 1971. Metcalf was an infantry officer who retired a lieutenant colonel.

Eric Hogue, a radio talk show host in Sacramento, dedicated most of his program yesterday to the cartoon. He said most callers to his show were outraged – especially the Vietnam veterans in the audience.

“One veteran was so flabbergasted and outraged that he could barely get a few words out through his tears and emotions,” Hogue told WND.

The worst thing, Hogue pointed out, was that the bombing depicted in the Vietnam photo “wasn’t even us – her injuries were caused by a South Vietnamese aircraft dropping napalm, not a U.S. plane.”

According to reports of the era, the photographer of the Phuc photo – Nick Ut – has confirmed the planes did not belong to the United States. Also, UPI television correspondent Christopher Wain confirmed that the attackers were South Vietnamese.

And, reports said, the village near the bombing – Trang Bang – was never a target. Rather, the South Vietnamese planes were striking North Vietnamese fortified positions outside the village, which itself was never a declared target.

No American forces were involved in the 1972 battle, with the exception of two Army officers.

“The open statement [of this cartoon] is that he’s comparing our Vietnam veterans and our Vietnam action to terrorists who hijack planes and go into World Trade Center buildings. Unbelievable,” Hogue said.

The talk show host said Wednesday’s cartoon “was a picture of the Statue of Liberty bent over, and not in a kneeling position, but as if in a defeated position, with New York ablaze behind her.” That cartoon “seemed to suggest the U.S. was defeated. I wouldn’t have gone with it, but it didn’t inflame people like today’s cartoon did.”

“We actually called his cartoon, on the air, ‘Domestic Psychological Terrorism.’ If he’s going to take the leap to say such – even though he’s wrong – then ultimately, journalistically, who is he, Timothy McVeigh?” Hogue said.

The KTKZ radio host said he tried to get Babin on the phone but he “hid like a coward behind his voice mail all day.”

WorldNetDaily did manage to reach Babin, who said he did not intend to inflame sensibilities with his artwork.

“When we think of that image of the children [running], to me that is really the ultimate image of the innocent victims of war,” he told WND. “It doesn’t matter whether it was Vietnam, or Kosovo, or done by the United States or to us, they are the ultimate innocent victims of war.”

“Because the image is so loaded to our involvement in Vietnam, people are thinking that I’m suggesting there is some sort of direct cause and effect of what we did in Vietnam, and that in some way we’re getting our just desserts,” he said. “That’s inaccurate and a misreading of the cartoon.”

He said he chose the Vietnam image because “I really felt it represented an image of innocent victims of war. And that’s what we have here on the streets of the U.S.”

“I see all victims of war as the same,” he said, “whether it’s on someone else’s soil or ours. When I saw those people running through the streets of New York, I thought, ‘We’ve seen this before, and that’s ironic.'”

Babin’s explanation didn’t satisfy Hogue.

“The Sacramento Bee needs to fire this guy, and the paper needs to offer a statement to Sacramento and to America of great apology,” said the talk show host.

“I want to know how many firefighters trapped under the rubble in New York City are Vietnam veterans?” said the host. “Here are guys and gals who have offered their lives to save those who have been targeted by terrorists, and now he’s saying they’re terrorists from years gone by.”