| The cartoons presented here were originally published within days of the September 11 attacks. Several consistent themes are represented. Many of the cartoons depicts the Statue of Liberty, often in a state of grief. This is presumably due to the idea that "freedom was attacked," but the close proximity of the statue to the former World Trade Center site likely influenced the cartoonists. A second theme is that of anger and revenge. Many of these use the symbols of the eagle and Uncle Sam. A third theme is the vulnerability of the United States. In these cartoons, America's powerful military is shown to have been helpless against decidedly low-tech terrorism. Not surprisingly, many cartoons depict terrorism itself, or Osama Bin Laden. In these cartoons the target is often caricatured as a rat, a cockroach, or some other lower life form. The Taliban, the group in Afghanistan who had allowed Al Qaeda to use Afghan territory for sanctuary and training, are also caricatured. |
