Europe's Left Does U-Turn on War

The onset of the war on terrorism had the European Left - and its supporters in the America-hating Left in the U.S. - predicting a new Vietnam and decrying heavy civilian casualties. Weeks later, civilian casualties in Afghanistan have been remarkably low, the Taliban has collapsed, Afghanis are celebrating their liberation - and the Left is doing an about face.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports on the Left's amazing change of heart, now that the U.S. they love to loathe is clearly triumphing in the first phase of a clearly righteous war against Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network. The latest poll published by the French newsweekly Le Nouvel Observateur found that 65 percent of the French public describe themselves as pro-American, "almost twice the figure registered in a 1996 survey." Broadcast of the video tape of bin Laden confirming his role in planning and executing the Sept. 11 attacks has caused a surge in support for America on the European continent.

"America is far from perfect," says Dominique Moisi, adjunct director of the French Institute for International Relations in Paris. "But without America, the history of humanity in the 20th century would have been infinitely more tragic."

Amen.