Iraq gets closer

When a suicide bomber killed about 20 Italians two weeks ago in the Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, the Wall Street Journal said it seemed to be a signal to U.S. allies to stay away from Iraq. Yesterday it was the Britons who were targeted in Istanbul. Many Czechs are concerned the violence is getting too close to home. TV Nova stressed last night that this time the terrorists attacked in Europe. The Czech government seems to be discreetly altering its Iraq policy by recalling its field hospital and other personnel. The defeat of Cyril Svoboda as KDU- ČSL chairman will facilitate the shift in policy. His one- man-show was a controversial issue within KDU, but there's been almost no recent public discussion on what the country thinks about Iraq and the war on terrorism. It's probably time for the government to let its citizens, and the world, know where the CR now stands. U.K.