From 9/11 to missile defense

Miloš Zeman told CNN in Nov. 2001 that 9/11 terrorist Mohammed Atta was in Prague to plan an attack on Radio Free Europe, not to prepare an attack on the Twin Towers. The Bush administration had been using Atta's alleged meeting with an Iraqi agent to suggest a link between 9/11 and Saddam Hussein, and Dick Cheney continues to say the meeting can't be ruled out, but Zeman's remark dealt a premature blow to the linkage issue. Five years later, Jiří Paroubek's stance on missile defense also represents a blow to the U.S. war effort. Paroubek politicized missile defense by declassifying secret bilateral details and prematurely rejecting the base. Defense Minister Jiří Šedivý is trying to keep the issue alive by warning of the Iran threat, but Paroubek (like Zeman before him) has done the damage. It would be no surprise if the U.S. were secretly happy to see ČSSD finally go. [Czech Republic United States of America Richard vice president George W. Bush Sept. 11, 2001 September 11 Mohamed]