In retrospect it looks like both of these plans turned out just swell.
In the upper panel you should recognize Osama bin Laden and probably Mullah Omar, although I put the eye patch on the wrong eye. I’d apologize to him, but he’s dead. The other guys are probably also part of Osama’s inner circle. I used to rely on the stills of Osama’s video taped messages and pre-9/11 press photos for reference in an effort to be as accurate as possible from my desk in Portland.
In the lower panel are Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld and George Bush. I don’t remember who the grinning chubby guy is supposed to be, but I suspect he’s either from the American Enterprise Institute or one of Bush’s PR people. It’s been 20 years. Memory fades.
As I write this Vladimir Putin is pursuing his own reckless plans, invading Ukraine on false pretexts and violating international law. I have been told making this historical analogy is “whataboutism” — as if recognizing patterns and similarities in the behavior of imperialist nations doesn’t apply to the US. My apologies.
