Final Word from Thursday, August 31, 2023
The Defense Cooperation Agreement with the U.S. was signed by Pres. Petr Pavel on Aug. 1, and a public discussion can now begin about what the document actually means. Ret. Brig. Gen. František Mičánek, who is dean emeritus of the Nato Defense College of Rome, jumped the gun a bit by saying in Právo on the day of the signing that Czechs need to be told that their rights can be curtailed once Nato training exercises begin and the D1 highway and rail lines from west to east are closed to public use. Ex-Army Chief of Staff Jiří Šedivý said that massive spending will likely be needed to bring highways, bridges, tunnels and airports into conformity with the sizes and weights of Nato equipment. Defense Min. Jana Černochová of ODS and Interior Min. Vít Rakušan of STAN have already spoken publicly about counting certain defense-related items toward the 2% Nato commitment. This is perhaps the next big tunnel of Czech business: Getting the defense ministry and Fiala cabinet to approve and fast-track all kinds of "defense-related" spending, even if Nato rules ultimately don't allow it to count toward the 2% commitment. [ Czech Republic tunneling United States of America non-defense reduce infringe DCA railroad ]
Glossary of difficult words
tunnel - a Czech word for asset-stripping or theft of government funds;
to jump the gun - to act before the proper or appropriate time;
to curtail - to reduce in extent or quantity; to impose a restriction on;
conformity - compliance with standards, rules or laws;
to fast-track - to accelerate the progress of (a person or project).