Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for March 28, 2010

Was Jeff the best they could come up with?

I was in Afghanistan in the 70s. Pashto is a VERY HARD language. I used Farsi to communicate with people

Jeff’s slacker cred aint helping

Jeff’s the tip of the spear, letting it all hang out. The potential losses are minimal.

If Havoc were true to his name, he would figure out way to leverage the chaos Jeff causes to his advantage. I saw them do it all the time on “Get Smart.”

“Unleash the Nimrod!”

There’s nothing to worry about, Jeff’s in the liberal part of Afghanistan. The women let their hands show.

He didn’t get punished for shooting down the USO chopper?

So THAT’S why this idiot is – still – there? Jeff actually has, at least somewhat, a capacity for foreign languages? Who would have thought?

I wonder who the idiots are. The one who can’t do anything or the ones who keep sending him in to try.

culture shock in extremis. our time in vietnam, republic of, was challenging too if we asked papa san to party with his daughter and wife when we actually asked if the well water was safe to drink

It wasn’t…

He could be an interpreter for Google translate and the other babelfish machines.

UUUUUUUUUUUUUgly American

Sounds like a tech rep for some “U.S.” company.

Do you think the guy gave him the wrong translation on purpose?

Rather like the skit on Monty Python.

The look on the reputable elder’s face is priceless.

I once read about an interview with Madonna in Hungary in which the questions had been asked in Hungarian, her replies translated, and then the whole thing re-translated back into English. The “up in the air”, “good odor” and “arms that are spread-eagled” come straight from that transcript. At least that version wasn’t likely to get anybody shot.

My hovercraft is full of eels.

I believe this is also in Farce-y.

Reputed elder, refuted elder. Same thing.

@Kevin Parker-Did you recently visit Oklahoma twice in the past month for unhappy reasons? If so, you are related to my late husband, a nephew in fact. Guess there could be more than one Kevin Parker in the US, but had to ask.

Boy Howdy, legacyshooter’s right, the water is bad juju. I got worms 4 times in the 2 yrs. I was there.

This is good Doonesbury! Or, probably, I just can’t resist “bad translation” comedy routines; usually, they’re funny as hell! I hope this keeps going for a while longer.