Hussein as enemy: The Persian GulfWar in political cartoons

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-1998

Abstract

This article examines the representation of Saddam Hussein as the enemy in political cartoons of U.S. newspapers during the 1991 Persian Gulf crisis. Cartoon images represented Hussein as an aggressor or a criminal; they dehumanized him into a variety of animals, including spiders and birds. Such images may have aided in rallying support for U.S. participation in the Persian Gulf and the goal of stopping Saddam Hussein. George Bush was sometimes portrayed favorably or neutrally, but the majority of images portrayed him negatively as weak, indecisive, or impatient. Although political cartoons certainly portrayed Hussein as the enemy in the Persian GulfWar, they did not portray Bush as the hero of the war.

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