From the time I first saw Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, I was uneasy about LeCarre. My later readings of his books made me more leery. There was always this moral equivalency between the CIA and the KGB.
Now I am validated.

I am sick of the way this kind of thinking goes on today in this country. Bring back plain old fashioned patriotism. And for those who ask me is it my country right or wrong or is this country perfect, I say that is not the correct question.
The question should be, as William Buckley used to say, "How are we doing, compared to everyone else?"
I wish he had defected. I think his books contributed to a lot of bad thinking in this country.

As good a writer as he is, his ambivalence about who the "good guys" were always made me uneasy. I know we've done a lot of things we shouldn't be proud of, but the other side is so much worse the comparison is moot.

Spying isn't operations. Spies are inherently and necessarily liars and frauds. Sometimes they are useful liars and frauds, but it is never a good idea to rely very much upon them to be ideologically pure or unwaveringly loyal.

I kinda agree with PTG. I've known several spies, and know the spy lit of which Le Carre is a part, and there's a large element of fun to what they do, the moral dimensions of their job notwithstanding. I'm not sure how you can believe in the essential goodness of your cause when you're interacting with people equally committed to theirs, and respecting their methods.

Besides, George's point -- "his ambivalence about who the "good guys" were always made me uneasy" -- is precisely what distinguishes great fiction from propaganda. That Le Carre may be a louse in real life (how many artists are louses in person? who cares?) has little to do with his ability to create conflicted characters. Life isn't black and white, y'know?

How much clearer can he be? "`I wasn't tempted psychologically'," he says. Then there's this about Kim Philby: "'There was always an instinct towards corruption in him. And remember, he was responsible for sending countless British agents to their deaths, to be killed - 40 or more in Albania.'"

No moral equivalence. It's pretty clear that he didn't sympathize with the moral anarchy of the Soviet Union.

Cornwall has suffered these last years, with a severe case of BDS ... Perhaps it sent him over the edge. He has made the most egregious comments about Bush. I guess he couldn't take it anymore and had to come out of the closet, er ... the cold.

But he's welcome to go now. I bet those old Commies would welcome him, since all their novelists have fled to the west.

Oh, isn't he the coy old thing! Just the ticket to garner some media attention. Sort of like OJ's "if I did it." Lots of people want it both ways. It looks more interesting and "complex." I guess the old fart was just Soviet-curious...you know, like gay-curious (but still straight, of course).