Final Word from Wednesday, February 28, 2024
How many times have we heard Joe Biden state that the U.S. will defend "every inch of Nato territory"? At least a dozen. The last time was two weeks ago, when he said that, "Putin and the whole world should know: If any adversary were to attack us, our Nato allies would back us. And if Putin were to attack a Nato ally, the United States [would] defend every inch of Nato territory." In Warsaw one year ago, Biden said that "Article 5 is a sacred commitment the United States has made." Yet he hedged this somewhat on Feb. 13 by saying that it applied "For as long as I'm president...." He didn't want to vouch for Donald Trump. As far as we can tell, no top Czech government or military official has ever before cast doubt on the "sacred commitment" of Article 5. Petr Pavel did in 2018 and Andrej Babiš in 2023, but they weren't in a top office of government or military responsibility. Yet Army Chief of Staff Karel Řehka has now stated the ugly truth: Article 5 is not a defense guarantee. And he's still in office. [ Czech Republic United States North Atlantic Treaty Article Five ]
Glossary of difficult words
Article 5 - Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty - an attack against one Nato member is considered an attack against all Nato members;
to hedge - to limit or qualify (something) by conditions or exceptions;
to vouch for - to confirm the identity or good character of (someone).