SOMEBODY’S CATCHING ON: “The director of Amnesty International USA warns that the left must confront terror with the same zeal that it battles Bush — or risk irrelevance.” Indeed.
Jeff Jarvis rounds up some advice.
UPDATE: Apparently, the head of Amnesty in Britain hasn’t caught on, as she’s slouching toward irrelevance with another bit of foaming-at-the-mouth anti-Americanism:
THOUSANDS of people will take to the streets in Britain next week to voice their anger, frustration and political opposition to President George W Bush’s policies.
Some [Like the American head of Amnesty! — Ed.] will criticise these protestors, writing off their views as knee-jerk anti-Americanism. But the critics should think before condemning them.
Why? Because after almost three years of President Bush’s “war on terror” many would argue that the world is now a more dangerous and divided place than it was immediately after 9/11.
Two years and two months is “almost three years?” Well, Amnesty has never, at least lately, let a fear of exaggeration get in the way of a good anti-American line. This doesn’t seem to reflect British opinion, though:
More than half of Labour supporters back US President George Bush’s state visit to Britain, according to a survey.
They were among an overall 43% of voters who told pollsters ICM they welcomed the visit – some 7% more than the 36% who said they would prefer the President to stay away. Twelve per cent were undecided.
The survey, published in The Guardian as Mr Bush flies to the UK, contradicted the widely-held assumption that the visit will damage Prime Minister Tony Blair.
It recorded improved ratings for the Prime Minister personally, as well as a slump in opposition to the war in Iraq.
And it indicated that public opinion in Britain is overwhelmingly pro-American, with 62% of respondents agreeing the US was “generally speaking, a force for good”, compared to 15% who described it as “an evil empire”.
Heh. Iraqis are marching against terrorism, and antiwar sentiment is slumping. “Irrelevance,” indeed.