[Via Communist Internet... http://www.egroups.com/group/Communist-Internet ] . . ----- Original Message ----- From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2001 8:00 AM Subject: Commander-In-Chief Havel Waffles, Supports NATO [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK] STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Well, on the one hand....Vaclav *Vidkun* Havel, who has made the intriguing journey from former self-styled dissident to ever-loyal commander-in-chief of a NATO army, eqivocates up a storm in the story below. On the one hand he must still pretend, for some nostalgic pensioners, that he's a patriot; on the other, the only one that counts, he comes down foursquare in favor of what his bosses in Brussels tell him to. (See the third paragraph.) *Explaining* is the last thing in the world Havel does in the circumlocutory orgy that follows. The Czech Republic has to defend itself. From whom? Hungary? Slovakia? The Golden Hordes? Someone in the national parliament or the world press corps really ought to ask that question sometime.] Havel Explains His Position on Fighter Jet Deal in Pravo PRAGUE, Jun 12, 2001 -- (CTK - Czech News Agency) President Vaclav Havel, who is the Czech Army commander-in-chief, does not want to challenge the valid national defense doctrine, including the envisaged purchase of new supersonic fighter aircraft, but is ready to accept regular changes in it, he writes in today's issue of Pravo. In his article Havel says he wants to explain his position on the planned fighter jet deal in order to avoid further speculation and misinterpretation of his statements by the media. In reaction to the recent discussion in the Czech Republic about whether the country should really buy 24 or 36 new fighters or invest the sum in question in the modernization of other parts of its army, such as the ground force, as has also been indirectly advised by the USA, Havel recently said in his opinion the country did need the planes. In Pravo Havel says he believes that it is not the army commander-in-chief task to decide on how many jets, tanks or howitzers the army should have. "These are very special questions, with which whole teams of experts have dealt for many years," he says. "After many years of discussions, the teams embodied their opinions in various blueprints and strategic documents, which were eventually approved by various state political bodies and which are naturally binding for the commander-in-chief as well. These documents say that we will have to buy new supersonic fighter aircraft, because the lifespan of the current ones will expire in the foreseeable future," Havel says. "If someone wants to change our national doctrine, he/she can do so using regular methods, and I will be ready to identify with the new version. However, I will not say on my own that this or that should be otherwise, and thus challenge the documents adopted," Havel writes. He says that "as a man and citizen" he believes that "we should be capable of defending our country, including its air space. After all, this is a condition for the alliance we have struck with others. All European countries, with the exception of two or three, which are markedly smaller than the Czech Republic, have supersonic planes," Havel writes. "I find it slightly absurd if someone says now, without elaborating, that the Czech Republic could be defended by others so that we can save money. Accepting such a kind of arguments would mean saying indirectly that as a member of NATO, we do not need to have any army at all," Havel says. In conclusion he emphasizes that he has never commented on when and how the Czech Republic should renew its supersonic fighter aircraft flight. ((c) 2001 CTK - Czech News Agency) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
