TOW #5 -- Political Cartoon

Over the past several months, the Russian Federation has been encroaching on its shared borders with Ukraine -- even crossing the border on multiple occasions. At the surface of the situation, Russian army troops were being sent into Ukraine to help minimalize the violence within the country as it experienced a shift in power. However, it is believed that the Russian troops were sent into Ukraine to take control of the country, rather than to simply act as peacekeepers. This allegation has led many other countries in the world -- including the United States -- to take a closer look at the situation as it has unraveled. Some countries, convinced of Russia's ulterior motives, have even begun to place sanctions on Russia, limiting their trading with the country among other punishments. The United States is one of the countries to have placed sanctions on Russia. However, it is highly disputed whether or not the country is enforcing the sanctions in place, or just letting them lapse over time.
The political cartoon below details one side of the argument as to whether or not the United States is enforcing its sanctions on Russia. The bear pictured in the cartoon represents Russia, with the bees representing the sanctions and Obama representing the bee hive. The bear is shown saying "BEES WITH NO STINGERS!..COOL!" This is referring to the lapsing sanctions put in place by the United States which do no real harm to Russia, as they are "all bark and no bite." Simply put, the sanctions carry no real threat to the country, as they are more of a political move than one to seriously put an end to Russian military activity along the borders of Ukraine.
The purpose of this political cartoon was to shine a light on the complicated politics which have engulfed the situation, as well as to depict the idea of the sanctions carrying little action. This is achieved through a comical metaphor in which the author likened the sanctions to bees with no stingers. The metaphor was able to break-down the situation into a simple idea which was relayed to the audience -- primarily the Americans looking upon the sanctions -- with delicate humor.