Not to split hairs, but I'm not sure it's accurate to characterize McEwan as a "staunch critic of the war on terror". I don't have the evidence in front of me or anything, so I could be wrong - I'd welcome any correctives from Frey or another commenter - but it's my understanding that while he's certainly no fan of Bush and Blair - and thoroughly disapproves of the way the war's been carried out thus far - (then again, who is/doesn't?) - McEwan's been very critical - in both his novel, Saturday, and, more explicitly, in interviews he did around the time that book was released - of the anti-war movement. (His problem, primarily - and again, I'm going on memory here, so I could be wrong - is with what he perceives as the anti-war movement's tacit defense of Saddam Hussein, whom McEwan considered worth getting rid of.) McEwan's also been very vocal in the press- just as his buddies Rushdie, Hitchens and Amis have been - about his defense of "Enlightenment values" (he recently came top Amis's aid in a dust-up regarding some insensitive comments the latter made about Arabs and Islamo-fascists) and the importance of stamping out terrorists who threaten them. As far as I can tell, McEwan is, at best, an "ambivalent" critic of the war on terror.
Not to split hairs, but I'm not sure it's accurate to characterize McEwan as a "staunch critic of the war on terror". I don't have the evidence in front of me or anything, so I could be wrong - I'd welcome any correctives from Frey or another commenter - but it's my understanding that while he's certainly no fan of Bush and Blair - and thoroughly disapproves of the way the war's been carried out thus far - (then again, who is/doesn't?) - McEwan's been very critical - in both his novel, Saturday, and, more explicitly, in interviews he did around the time that book was released - of the anti-war movement. (His problem, primarily - and again, I'm going on memory here, so I could be wrong - is with what he perceives as the anti-war movement's tacit defense of Saddam Hussein, whom McEwan considered worth getting rid of.) McEwan's also been very vocal in the press- just as his buddies Rushdie, Hitchens and Amis have been - about his defense of "Enlightenment values" (he recently came top Amis's aid in a dust-up regarding some insensitive comments the latter made about Arabs and Islamo-fascists) and the importance of stamping out terrorists who threaten them. As far as I can tell, McEwan is, at best, an "ambivalent" critic of the war on terror.