Final Word from Tuesday, August 20, 2002
After any disaster, everything for some time later is judged in terms of the event. For example, the purchase by the Czech air force of new supersonic fighters Gripens BAE/Saab was suddenly derailed this week by the floods. In contrast, the Nato summit in Nov. in Prague will go forward as a way to prove the CR's resilience. But what about Czech support for the expected U.S. attack on Iraq? The subject was rarely mentioned here before the flood, despite the active debate in the U.S., U.K., Germany and other countries. The new cabinet gave vague support for the idea by vowing in its agenda to take part in the war against terrorism, including anti-terrorist operations. But soon the CR will have to address the issue directly, flood or no flood. It will be interesting to see which argument the cabinet uses for sanctioning, or condemning, the U.S. attack.