START III

The policy of Mutually Assured Destruction served its purpose for years in Soviet-American relations, but the time came to enter limitation and reduction talks. The Soviets didn't much like the idea at first, because of the potential intrusion it imposed on their society, with all that inspection and verification. Relations between ČSSD and ODS have reached a similar point. All was grand during the opposition agreement, and the threat of mutual annihilation kept things under control for years thereafter. But now the political battlefield at VZP insurer and the Land Fund is starting to look like the Afghan war, and factional infighting threatens to cause irreparable damage to both sides. It's another eye-opener for the public, and it's generally positive for democracy. That is, unless it opens the door wider for the Communists. It might be time for ČSSD and ODS to sit down and write up some new rules for how to coexist on this planet. [Czech Republic Strategic Arms Reduction Talks Soviet Union Všeobecná zdravotní pojišťovna health healthcare]