One of Carl Barks' most political stories was written in the 1960s. "Treasure of Marco Polo" appeared in July of 1966 during the deepening of the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war. As such it can be seen as a silent critique of the war itself. I will try to make clear why this story is a satire of the war in Vietnam and at the same time offers a way out for the U.S. government. This  I call the message of the story but I will follow up on that later on. It is no wonder then that the story had been so long on the "Disney Index", as Gary Leech wrote in 1988. "The lines referring to revolution and worker's paradise and the like had been part of the reason it had been banned, possibly due to the intense political sensitivities aroused in the U.S.A. by our recently, and badly, concluded "involvement" in Vietnam," and yet he forgets that the Vietnam War was not yet over in 1966 but that it was in full swing. It was in June 1966, only one month before the publication of the story that U.S. planes began bombing major installations near Hanoi and the neighboring port of Haiphong. Gary Leach and the censored dialogue, however, make it clear that Barks' intention in the story was the Vietnam war. Despite the censorship the story has lost nothing of its message which in the end is the core of this little masterpiece. 

The story begins like so many Uncle Scrooge stories within the moneybin and at the opening screen we can already see evidence of what will follow. On the right, the image of "Gimme- the god of the alms taker" can be seen as a symbol for the  many people that had to give their lives in the name of democracy. Furthermore we don't see money in Scrooge's vault but treasures that he has collected which is at least an indication of what the story is about, a treasure hunt as the title already suggests. Uncle Scrooge expects a huge treasure from Unsteadystan, a jade elephant filled with all kinds of riches but as he opens the box at the harbor he has to realize there is no elephant in there and all that is left is the tail. This all sounds as if we have one of Scrooge's regular hunts but with bullet holes that spread across the wooden box it becomes clear that we will not have a regular story. 

Bullet holes are not normal in Disney stories as no one is permitted to die. Barks has used guns before but never in a war like environment. Moreover it was also risky for him to actually let the Ducks be involved in a war as violence was against Disney's ideal. Barks however was able to draw such a story with guns and armor filling the picture once the Ducks have reached their destination, Unsteadystan, which he only got through after his story had been, as already mentioned, put through extreme censorship. Their guide, Soy Bheen, having lured them under false pretenses to this very unsteady country seems at first the innocent character but once we see him in action we learn that he is very shrewed. As the plane touches down the air is immediately filled with lead. Luckily, although not surprisingly, they make it out just before the air plane falls apart. 
The war in this Unsteadystan, however, is not a normal war as one might imagine. In an adroit way Barks transfers the irrationality of the Vietnam war to this scene in Unsteadystan. In panel 1 and 3 of page 5 there is a map in the background of Uncle Scrooge which miraculously changes from a scene vaguely similar to the U.S. with two spots saying "Here" and "There" to one that also vaguely resembles that of Asia where two spots are aligned as if they were Vietnam and Korea. These two spots are named "Nowhere" and "Nowhere also", a sign that Barks wants us to tell that home, the U.S., is more important than the far distant places of Korea and Vietnam. This map also confirms my idea of the direct connection of this story to the war. The actual irrationality of the war starts after the landing of the plane where we learn that each day fighting stops for two hours. Also the white flag has a different meaning as Soy Bheen says: "White Flags mean come out fighting in Unsteadystan!" Barks way of saying that the war is a traumatic experience for America and Americans fighting there he names a ship simply the S.S. Traumatic which sinks as Uncle Scrooge boards it. This whole thing climaxes as Uncle Scrooge aims for the only unharmed building, the embassy of Duckburg, as it is blown to pieces. Done during the two hour daily break it makes the act surreal and as we learn that it was Uncle Scrooge's fault because of a cheap McDuck Enterprises watch we realize that there are no innocent people in war! 
The noise of war is realized by a set of onomatopoetic words filling many of the panels. There are "Bang", "Blam", "Pop", "Pow", "Zap" to name only a few. All these have a connection to war and want to make the scene more real and also more dangerous. The sound of war is what frightens many who lived or fought there and as we have heard from witnesses especially children we know that these shootings are indeed traumatic. The deceptive nature so inherent to war is realized in the very person of Soy Beehn who in reality is the long awaited prince Char Ming. The Ducks however do not know about this as Uncle Scrooge puts on the "boy's traveling suit" which in reality is the clothing of the prince. A fake beard and an unknown language make the shrewd guide tell the army about the returned prince who in reality is Uncle Scrooge. The guide returns to the palace where the Ducks have found cover and pretends as if nothing had happened. At this point the war comes closest as we see a bullet flying into the room and making in a hole in one of the kids special hats. Then we meet the evil nemesis of the story, a wild and power hungry general with the characteristic name of Whan Beeg Rhat. This strong man however needs the protection of the Jade elephant which all the people honor despite the war. Everybody bows down to this symbol of strength which reminds one of the pictures of dictators, like Hotshimin, to which people bowed down, too. 

But what about the central message I have indicated at the beginning?  It is only realized on the last page of the comic by a very adroit twist to the end. Uncle Scrooge says in final two panels: "I am giving this hoard and the Jade Elephant to Unsteadystan! ... And when I am back to Duckburg I'll do even more - I'll return that million-dollar Jade Elephant tail!" Uncle Scrooge never gives away money but here he does. Was this only Scrooge's benevolence or is there more behind this symbolic gesture. The act itself signifies for me that it would be better for the United States to leave this poor country alone and help anyway they can. Is Wahn Beeg Rhat really the powerful and 'evil' US who employ their stradegy not for the better of the people of Unsteadystan? Nevermind this allogy, I think that by naming ships "Traumatic" and by making the war as senseless as possible Carl Barks wanted to tell the reader as well as the general public that in his mind the war should not be fought at all and by that final twist that the US should even go insofar as helping the people there with money and not with bombs.