Nato's transformation

Defense Minister Jaroslav Tvrdík told MF Dnes last month that the Czech army is great at engaging in risky foreign missions and combating floods but is a failure in everything else. President Václav Havel declared prior to accession that the CR was militarily and politically prepared to join Nato, but Tvrdík's comments suggested that, even today, the CR lags far behind militarily. At its summit this week, Nato plans to transform itself to take advantage of the individual strengths of each member. Without admitting that the CR and other new members aren't capable in the near term of full Nato integration, the Alliance will seek to profit from their strong points while encouraging them to work on their weaknesses. This is an elegant solution that tends to obscure the reality that Nato's enlargement is still more a political issue than a military one.