Final Word from Tuesday, February 7, 2023

President-elect Petr Pavel told Respekt magazine last week that there is a will in the CR to send the CR's undelivered German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine. This is a surprising statement, because PM Petr Fiala and Defense Min. Jana Černochová (both ODS) have said repeatedly that this is not something that is being considered. Does Pavel have access to classified government information? The defense ministry under Černochová has in general been extremely tight-lipped about what the Czech government is sending to Ukraine, how much it costs, who the suppliers are and where the money is coming from and going. This contrasts sharply with the U.S. Defense Dept. It and several other U.S. government agencies reported in Jan. that they have made oversight of the $113bn in aid to Ukraine a priority. They even provided a two-page list of specific pieces of equipment - Stingers, Javelins, Mi-17 helicopters, T-72B tanks, howitzers, etc. - that have been committed. Why is transparency a priority for the U.S. government but such a taboo for the CR? Perhaps Gen. Pavel knows something about that as well. [ Czech Republic Offices of Inspectors General (OIG) U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) U.S. Department of State U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Leopard 2 purchases supplies deliveries ]