{
  "id": 6509693,
  "title": "Stars and Stripes paper the latest casualty of 'friendly' fire",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/stars-and-stripes-paper-the-latest-casualty-of-friendly-fire",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-10T00:57:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/opinion/20260910/stars-and-stripes-paper-the-latest-casualty-of-friendly-fire"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Stars and Stripes newspaper has become the latest victim of an incident involving friendly fire. Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower and modern-day military commentator Pete Hegseth seem destined to clash over a critical issue - the editorial independence of the esteemed military newspaper. Recent accounts from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and others reveal that the current clash at the government-funded publication bears a striking resemblance to a confrontation that occurred during World War II between Eisenhower and Gen. George Patton.\n\nPatton was reportedly infuriated by the lively, irreverent soldiers featured in Star and Stripes' popular \"Willie and Joe\" comic strip. The cartoonist, Bill Mauldin, had dared to poke fun at Patton's stringent crackdown on soldiers with beards, earning him the nickname \"beardos.\" Eisenhower intervened, reassuring Patton that he would not tolerate any interference with Mauldin's work, thus bringing an end to the dispute. However, there is currently no figure with the authority to issue a similar directive to Hegseth, who, like his White House counterpart, faces no such power to protect the newspaper's independence.",
  "summary": "Dwight D. Eisenhower and Pete Hegseth, it appears, would not have gotten along well. They almost certainly would have disagreed on one particular military matter — the editorial independence of the venerable Star and Stripes newspaper. As the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and others have recounted in recent days, the latest round of turmoil at the government-funded military…",
  "key_points": [
    "Stars and Stripes newspaper faces friendly fire incident.",
    "Eisenhower vs. Patton clash over editorial independence.",
    "No authority to protect newspaper's independence."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The loss of editorial independence for Stars and Stripes leaves the newspaper vulnerable to influence from powerful figures, unlike during World War II when Eisenhower protected Bill Mauldin's work.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Stars and Stripes paper the latest casualty of 'friendly' fire",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/stars-and-stripes-paper-the-latest-casualty-of-friendly-fire-6511368",
        "published": "2026-09-10T01:07:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}