European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 23, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Abdul so the saudi place Back m the stated k>3 tj0s open is nil Tacoma Wash morning news Nune Call him the Crayon of Dhahran the doodler of dam Mam or maybe better yet Benson of Arabia. Lien editorial cartoonist Steve Benson heard that president Bush was Quot drawing a a inthe Sand Quot to counter Iraq s invasion Kuwait he reacted like any red blooded Nie rican satirist would a he packed his a grabbed some sunblock and hitched Pride aboard a . Military transport plane Jound for saudi Arabia where he spent Jeweral Days drawing his own lines on the i lines of operation desert shield. Fienson who works for the morning a Tribune in Tacoma wash., and is anally syndicated by Tribune Media mess was the first a and so far the Only american editorial cartoonist to hit the Penes of the persian Gulf ready to prove it a a Poison pen is mightier than the won Gas. 0ncqon the ground Benson and some journalists struck out for the local e a ending an authentic Arab eatery i As pushing a Camel through. To of a Needle. American style fast outlets were everywhere. Inns Point an unmarked car pulled up nouan6 be a ver in unmistakable sign j everyone to freeze. Benson and his accomplices were under arrest of some sort. Within minutes two policemen pulled up in a Cruiser demanding to see passports and credentials. They especially wanted to examine the minarets and mosques Benson had been drawing. A crowd gathered somber and staring. No one spoke English. No one smiled. The saudis radioed for their supervisor. Then Benson remembered his Days As a struggling College student drawing quickie caricatures for tourists at six flags Over Texas. Now he Drew the policemen s mugs whipping off a look alike of the fellow in the passenger seat in a couple of minutes. The crowd started smiling. Another policeman pulled up. He asked to see the sketches and told the first two cops to let Benson and his pals go. They hurried off sticking close to Benson. Closer to the front the air was heavy with the smell of Jet fuel and the sound of War talk. Even the Gas mask on Bensons hip was t very reassuring. He had received a 10-minute crash course on How to use it and was told he would have Only nine seconds to get it on if he wanted to live to draw another cartoon. Worse than Saddam a Gas however was the array of chemical weapons Benson came face to face with on the american Side a go food standing for Quot gastrointestinal. No wonder the soldiers looked so glum As they prepared to eat. While some of the soldiers were itching for a fight Benson found that a lot More were just Plain itching. Sand As Fine As Talcum powder managed to seep into every Nook and cranny of their boots clothes and equipment. Combine saudi Sand with saudi Sun and it took a pretty dry sense of humor to Deal with the danger of dehydrating in the dunes. Surviving the hostile environment and an equally formidable enemy next door in Kuwait May have seemed easy to the . Military Public affairs officers whose duty it was to keep their Eye on another perceived enemy a the press. Journalists trying to Contact local military units for the folks Back Home were met with three Standard answers a Quot we be never heard of this a Quot this unit is in a classified a Quot fill out this form Well get Back to Lucky for the intrepid cartoonist though he was allowed to scamper where others were forbidden to tread. As one Pao told him Quot you Don t ask questions. You just Benson was soon befriended by an army colonel who escorted him around areas closed to everyone else letting him crawl up into an f-15 cockpit As fighter planes blasted by him on either Side. His sojourn with the troops in the desert finally Over Benson returned Home emptied the Sand from his sneakers refilled his Ink bottle and talked of his next big adventure a getting into Iraq to cartoon the Bozo of time his wife Drew a line in the Sand. She said no. Seas astr Conion tet or Friday november 23, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 17
