This Photograph was approved by Military Censors for distribution to the general public. I found the photo in the online "YAHOO Photo Bank." I kept the caption to the photo just as I found it, since it illustrates perfectly the mindset of those who are now dropping the bombs. The Photo Editor of the Associated Press tagged this photo with a warning that the picture had been "reviewed" by Navy Communications. This means of course that the Military approved the photo for distribution. It goes without saying that NO ONE in the Military saw anything offensive about the bomb casing graffiti... and furthermore, would APPROVE this image as representing "Operation Eternal Freedom."

One may also note the misspelling of "highjack"... a further comment on the educational level of the servicemen in today's Military. In 1991 I created a poster critical of the first Bush administration and it's conduct in the Gulf War. That poster was titled "Life under tha edjucasun prezident"... a reference to Mr. Bush's referring to himself as "The Education President." In my drawing I had portrayed a Soldier signing bomb casings with slogans like "weer #1" "giv war a chanse" and "mes with tha best dye like the rest." Looks like my drawing has come back to life! You can see that image at the following URL;

http://www.art-for-a-change.com/Vallen/vdraw12.htm

EDITOR'S NOTE: PICTURE MAY HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AS IT WAS SENT VIA NAVY COMMUNICATIONS--A Navy officer signs a bomb attached to the wing of an aircraft on the flight deck of the USS Enterprise in the Arabian Sea, Thursday, Oct.11, 2001. The USS Enterprise is one of the ships involved in the attacks in Afghanistan. Complete writing on spare fuel tank reads, "War Party". (AP Photo/Jockel Finck)