Final Word from Tuesday, July 14, 2026

"Who lost Russia?" has been a recurring theme in U.S. politics since the early 2000s, when critics started blaming the Clinton administration for paving the way for Vladimir Putin by unconditionally backing Boris Yeltsin and ignoring widespread corruption. "Who lost the Czechs and Slovaks?" could become a recurring theme in European politics if what Pres. Petr Pavel said at the Pohoda festival in Slovakia on Sat. is true. He said that he spoke in Ankara to colleagues mainly from Western and Northern Europe. "What caught my attention is the widespread feeling of concern that they are losing us," he said, meaning the CR and Slovakia. "And I would consider this an extremely dangerous thing." It was partly this statement, according to Vice PM Karel Havlíček, that provoked PM Andrej Babiš to attack Pavel on Sun. on Facebook. It's a lie to claim that our Western allies have doubts about our direction, Havlíček said. Pavel, it seems, will now have to get his European colleagues to go on the record with their concerns. [ Bill Respekt Nato Turkey ]