Cartoon: The Beheading Coalition

The Beheading Coalition from MarkFiore on Vimeo.

From The Daily Kos (source link):  Now that the United States is forming another military coalition to combat evil in the Middle East, maybe we should pause to take a closer look at the members of this coalition. Sure, ISIS is terrible and does awful things like behead people, but they’ve got nothing on Saudi Arabia, which beheads people as a matter of policy.

Between August 4th and 22nd, Saudi Arabia executed 22 people, bringing the yearly total to 34. (They executed 79 people in 2013 and killed 2000 people between 1985 and 2013.) They recently killed four members of the same family for drug trafficking.

I’m not saying every one of our allies in the fight against ISIS has to be perfect, but it does seem a bit hypocritical when one of our most important allies in the Middle East has such a thing for beheading— just something to keep in mind when the next terrible ISIS beheading video is released. Nobody seems to get worked up when prisoners who have been tortured and condemned by a religious court are beheaded in a public square, as long as it happens in Saudi Arabia. Dogboy is a little confused by this whole thing, and Mr. Dan is trying desperately to make the world black and white. You can of course find more links about the news behind this cartoon here.

Mr. Dan: Good news, Dogboy!

Dogboy: What’s that, Mr. Dan?

Mr. Dan: Obama is finally going to bomb Iraq and Syria and form a military alliance!

Dogboy: You mean an alliance with extreme religious zealots who behead people?

Mr. Dan: NO! Wrong side. I’m talking about Saudi Arabia, UAE—

Dogboy: So am I!

Mr. Dan: Wha’, what do you mean? ISIS are the guys who behead people.

Dogboy: Saudi Arabia does it more!

Mr. Dan: No! No! Saudi Arabia is our ally. They’ll help us battle ISIS and are part of the Coalition!

Dogboy: The “Coalition-That-Beheads-People-Too?”

Mr. Dan: What?! Even if that’s true, I’m sure it doesn’t happen often.

Dogboy: Only thirty or so times so far this year, Mr. Dan.

Mr. Dan: Well, those people were criminals probably—

Dogboy: Found guilty by religious judges, under torture—

Mr. Dan: Of awful crimes, no doubt—

Dogboy: Adultery, sorcery, witchcraft, non-violent drug offenses . . .

Mr. Dan: But ISIS wears black, Saudi Arabia wears white— and has the civilized decency to not post their beheadings to Youtube!

Dogboy: They just do it in public squares.

Mr. Dan: Come on, you can’t argue that all beheadings are alike!

Dogboy: You say Salay-fee, I say Salah-fee . . .

Mr. Dan: Bbbrrr, they’re our friends, Dogboy!

Dogboy: Our friends who torture people, then behead them, right?

Mr. Dan: BBBBrrrr, Dogboyyyy! [pop]

Dogboy: Well that does complicate things, Mr. Dan. Mr Dan?

Mr. Dan: Ughhhnn, Dogboyyy . . .