The Joint Chiefs of Staff certainly thought so and they sent a letter to the Washington Post expressing their outrage. Among other things, they stated, "While The Post and some of its readers may not agree with the war or its conduct, these men and women and their families are owed the decency of not having a cartoon make light of their tremendous physical sacrifices." and, "As the joint chiefs, we rarely put our hand to one letter, but we cannot let this reprehensible cartoon go unanswered".
The cartoonist called the letter "an understandable response" but said he did not regret what he drew. In thinking about Rumsfeld's remarks, he said, "what came soon to mind was the catastrophic level of injuries the Army and members of the armed services have sustained . . . I thought my portrayal of it was a fair depiction of the reality of the situation".
