Final Word from Monday, April 15, 2024

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen just got back from China, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is there now, but National Security Adviser Tomáš Pojar was pilloried by Czech opinion leaders for a meeting with Chinese Foreign Min. Wang Yi on Nov. 2. Czechs are expected by those guiding the public debate to be even tougher on adversaries than those who are setting Western foreign policy. The U.S. is urging Israel to exercise restraint in reacting to Iran's weekend attack, but Czech officials (Petr Fiala, Marian Jurečka) are instead stressing Israel's right to continue to defend itself. Pojar told a gathering of the Aspen Institute on Nov. 16 that if the Iranians decide to widen the war in the Middle East, we will see how many problems it causes in Europe. His idea was to have China exercise its influence over Teheran. We need to be realistic about what is happening in the world, he said, and about the cards we are playing with. Instead, it seems, Czechs are set on adding Iran to their list of enemies. [ Czech Republic United States PM Labor Min. Minister relations ]