John le Carre interview, and his new anti-neo con, anti-Iraq war novel

[Minstrel Boy]

titled Absolute Friends.

A snip from the interview, in today's Toronto Globe and Mail:

When it's recalled to him that Bush and Sharon were both elected and can be replaced by voters, while the likes of Saddam Hussein rule as despots for decades, le Carré shoots back: "Do you suppose that Bush was legally elected? Do you suppose that it is democratic to dismantle rights in America that the forefathers of the present politicians fought for bitterly? Do you suppose we're offering a democratic example through Guantanamo? Do you think it democratic to lie, persistently and deliberately, to a population that has elected, or not elected, you?

"So don't please fall into the trap of believing this is a battle between the civilized and the uncivilized world. That's the first colonial misconception. This is a battle between hyperpower and non-hyperpower. It's a battle between majorities and minorities. Never was there such an unequal war fought on such spurious grounds in my memory, except possibly if we go back to Suez."

Absolute Friends did not start off as a book about the war against terror. Le Carré started blocking out his plan for the book prior to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and planned to write a book about the emerging wave of anti-globalization protests. He thought a new generation of Baader-Meinhof-style terrorists might be emerging, which is why he decided to concentrate on the stories of Ted and Sasha, both of whom had their origins in the 1968 generation of revolutionaries.

But after Sept. 11, his focus switched to the U.S.-led war against terror. "I watched with horror how the American media and the American public was gulled into believing that Saddam had a part in the Twin Towers. . . . Where the hell were the Democrats then, where was the American press, how can you be proud of that, how can you call that the voice of democracy?"

http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040106/LECARRE06/TPEntertainment/TopStories

[KoKo]

1. I can't wait to read this book. LeCarr'e wrote an excellent Editorial for

"Guardian" against the Iraq Invasion. Many of us felt he had enough ties into British MI-5 and 6 that he must have known the intelligence was hyped and faulty as we were finding out before Bush/Blair decided to go in anyway. I'm glad to see he's taken it beyond his "Editorial."

He has alot of fans, even thought his books are hard to get into at first (for me at least) once you get into the plot you're hooked!

[Minstrel Boy]

2. oops, a dupe

Screaming Lord Byron just beat me to it:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=988731