Newspaper cartoons are daily signatures (and lightning rods) of visual protest against political injustice. Ever since 1843, when the word 'cartoon' was first used in Punch magazine to describe its satirical drawings, the editorial cartoon in modern print media has referred to a humorous illustration that uses caricature and visual metaphor to illuminate a social or political message. At a time when American foreign and domestic policies have been drawing scathing criticism from around the world, editorial cartoonists have been leading the charge, using graphic satire to expose, ridicule and attack the world's most powerful nation and its leaders.

While American cartoonists have reacted with anger to the current administration's foreign-policy ddebacles and hypocrisy, the international media's view of recent events in the U.S has been marked less by outrage than by disappointment, disbelief and disenchantment. Why Do They Hate US? presents more than 80 editorial cartoons from 25 countries on such subjects as American elections, George Bush, Iraq, California politics and Hurricane Katrina. The international collection assembles recent work by more than 35 cartoonists from around the world, representing cutting-edge political insights from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe South America and our North American neighbors, Canada and Mexico.