Final Word from Monday, September 21, 2009
Czech politicians and diplomats who invested so much into the radar are peeved that things didn't work out for them. The radar cadre (which included Havel, Topolánek, Vondra, Schwarzenberg, Pojar and many others) saw an opportunity and jumped at it. They were admittedly put in a difficult position. Should they have turned down an ally in a moment of need simply because the "uninformed" public was opposed? Was it their place to tell George W. Bush what many people already knew, namely that the position of the U.S. was waning and that the ultimate goal of the missile shield - U.S. dominion of space - wasn't likely to ever come to fruition? In retrospect, the radar enthusiasts probably did need to answer the call of their ally. Where they fumbled the ball was by agreeing to make the radar a bilateral issue, and by not doing a better job of discussing the pluses and minuses with voters.[Czech Republic United States defense Václav Mirek Alexandr Karel Tomáš]
Glossary of difficult words
in retrospect - with hindsight; when looking back on a past event or situation;
peeved - annoyed, irritated;
to work out - to have a good or specified result;
cadre - a group of activists; a small group of people trained for a particular purpose;
to jump at (an opportunity) - enthusiastically to take advantage of;
to wane - to decrease in vigor, power or extent;
fruition - the point at which a plan or project is realized;
to fumble the ball - to manage or deal with something in a clumsy way;
bilateral issue - instead of a Nato or EU issue;
pluses and minuses - advantages and disadvantages.