Post by Libyan Sibyl on Oct 8, 2007 9:13:29 GMT -5
US is anti-American: Springsteen
October 5, 2007 - 2:20PM
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen has brushed off critics who label him unpatriotic, countering that the United States has itself engaged in "anti-American" activity since President George W Bush took power.
"I think we've seen things happen over the past six years that I don't think anybody ever thought they'd ever see in the United States," Springsteen told CBS television.
He notably criticised CIA interrogation techniques, Bush's domestic surveillance program and the detention of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, without referring to them explicitly.
"When people think of the Unites States' identity, they don't think of torture. They don't think of illegal wiretapping ... They don't think of no habeas corpus," he said, referring to suspects being held without charge.
"Those are things that are anti-American," he said.
"There's been a whole series of things that... I never thought I'd ever see in America," he added.
He said the "unpatriotic" label that some critics have stuck on him because of his anti-war comments was "just the language of the day... the modus operandi for anybody who doesn't like somebody."
"It's unpatriotic at any given moment to sit back and let things pass that are damaging to some place that you love so dearly," he added.
Springsteen, nicknamed "The Boss" and famed for hits such as Born in the USA, appeared on the campaign trail with Democrat John Kerry during the 2004 US election, despite not publicly endorsing presidential candidates before.
www.smh.com.au/news/people/us-is-antiamerican-springsteen/2007/10/05/1191091340076.html
October 5, 2007 - 2:20PM
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen has brushed off critics who label him unpatriotic, countering that the United States has itself engaged in "anti-American" activity since President George W Bush took power.
"I think we've seen things happen over the past six years that I don't think anybody ever thought they'd ever see in the United States," Springsteen told CBS television.
He notably criticised CIA interrogation techniques, Bush's domestic surveillance program and the detention of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, without referring to them explicitly.
"When people think of the Unites States' identity, they don't think of torture. They don't think of illegal wiretapping ... They don't think of no habeas corpus," he said, referring to suspects being held without charge.
"Those are things that are anti-American," he said.
"There's been a whole series of things that... I never thought I'd ever see in America," he added.
He said the "unpatriotic" label that some critics have stuck on him because of his anti-war comments was "just the language of the day... the modus operandi for anybody who doesn't like somebody."
"It's unpatriotic at any given moment to sit back and let things pass that are damaging to some place that you love so dearly," he added.
Springsteen, nicknamed "The Boss" and famed for hits such as Born in the USA, appeared on the campaign trail with Democrat John Kerry during the 2004 US election, despite not publicly endorsing presidential candidates before.
www.smh.com.au/news/people/us-is-antiamerican-springsteen/2007/10/05/1191091340076.html
