The Joint Chiefs Do Not Approve

Washington Post editorial cartoonist Tom Toles has some heavy artillery pointed at him over a cartoon that ran on Sunday. The Joint Chiefs--yep, all of the them--wrote to complain about the cartoon that they called "beyond tasteless." Of course, intentionally or unintentionally, the Joint Chiefs completely missed the point. The soldier, a multiple amputee, is not the target. It's "Dr. Rumsfeld," who refuses to acknowledge the soldier's injuries.

Certainly the men who make up the Joint Chiefs are entitled to their opinions about the cartoon, but complaining about it en masse on official Pentagon stationary can't help but have a chilling effect on the press (and that has to be their intention, whether they'll admit it or not). The Pentagon--or the President, or any other highly placed government official--should not be treading on the First Amendment and trying to influence what appears in the newspaper.

John Aravosis has been on top of the issue. His first post on the topic includes a link to a PDF of the actual letter itself. Editor & Publisher also has coverage, and, reporting right from ground zero in the Post newsroom, Howie Kurtz has responses from Toles and editorial page editor Dave Autry.