Final Word from Monday, October 23, 2023

In a Foreign Affairs article published just before the attack on Israel by Hamas, ex-U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates wrote that the U.S. has never before faced four allied antagonists at the same time - Russia, China, North Korea and Iran - whose collective nuclear arsenal could be nearly double the size of its own within a few years. Dysfunction, Gates added, has made American power erratic and unreliable. Yet the CR, we note, is on exactly the same wavelength as the USA in terms of Russia and China. North Korea isn't much of an issue for Czechs, but the fourth antagonist - Iran - is gaining in importance for everyone as an effect of the war in Gaza. The anger of the Global South, Iran included, is rising against the Global North, and the CR has a privileged place as one of few countries of the North with a toe in the South, thanks to its recognition of the State of Palestine. This could serve the Czechs well if they decide not to blindly follow the "erratic and unreliable" U.S. on Iran as well. [ Czech Republic United States enemies opponents Republican adversaries ]