The Prague Post
December 5th, 2008
Prague Property

Active Defense

Defense Minister Karel Kühnl supports Czech participation in U.S.-led missions abroad, despite current flap over Guantanamo

Czech troops train Iraqi police as part of their coalition duties in concert with the U.S. military presence.
By Dinah A. Spritzer
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
June 9, 2005


Thanks to successful army reform and the unique skills of specialized units, more than 600 Czech troops participate in missions abroad led by NATO and the United Nations. But are Czech troops overextended? Do covert CIA planes carrying prisoners headed for interrogation in countries that permit torture refuel in Prague? Why is the Defense Ministry dogged by allegations of nontransparency? The Prague Post posed some tough questions for Karel Kühnl, who took up his post as defense minister nearly a year ago.

The Prague Post: The United States has been getting some very bad press lately about how it treats the suspected terrorists it holds prisoner at Guantanamo Bay. Former Czech human rights commissioner Jan Jařab said an independent international body should investigate. Do you agree?

Karel Kühnl: This is to be decided by the United States.

TPP: The Foreign Affairs Ministry has been very outspoken about fostering human rights in numerous countries from Cuba to Belarus and has called on the European Union to adopt a more active stance on human rights. Are you not at all concerned that your partner, whom you are supporting by participating in missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, is accused of serious human rights violations?

KK: I am concerned about only one thing, and this is the success of the war on terrorism — this is the only thing I am concerned about. And I am pretty convinced that the United States, a country ruled by law, is capable of sorting out any problem that may arise in this area.

TPP: The New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman has pointed out that over 100 detainees have died in U.S. custody at Guantanamo and calls the prison the anti-Statue of Liberty. You think the United States can sort that out?

KK: I am not going to comment on the commentaries of journalists.

TPP: OK, let's try Czech journalists. TV Nova and TV Prima have both reported that CIA planes carrying terrorist suspects to be interrogated and possibly tortured in Third World countries have refueled in Prague three times, the most recent time being May 6. Don't Czechs have the right to know if this country is helping the United States do its dirty work?

KK: I am not going to discuss 'ifs.'

TPP: Did the planes land here?

KK: Planes land and take off; it's quite normal.

TPP: Did the CIA planes refuel in Prague?

"I am concerned about only one thing — the war on terrorism."

Karel K•hnl, defense minister
KK: We in the Czech government have no information about the content of the planes.

TPP: But if the planes were refueling here and the prisoners are in fact being tortured, as the evidence suggests, some lawyers say the Czech Republic could be guilty of violating the U.N. Convention against Torture.

KK: I am not going to discuss 'ifs.'

TPP: What do you say to those who criticize the Czech Republic for being too pro-United States?

KK: The Czech Republic is pro-Czech Republic. It is in the interest of the Czech Republic to insist on the framework of trans-Atlantic relations remaining intact. Without cooperation with the United States, without the presence of U.S. soldiers in Europe, without their preparedness to [solve] problems in Europe, like the Balkans, we could face in the long run substantial difficulties in Europe. And substantial difficulties in Europe always mean for a small country in the middle of Europe very big problems.

TPP: Some MPs have told me that they feel Czech forces are overextended in their foreign assignments.

KK: Perhaps some MPs are overextended in their ability to understand what the Army is there for in these times. There are a limited number of countries capable of helping other countries [maintain] security and prevent unofficial forces from taking over countries and making them a base for international terrorism. With our limited forces, we are one of these countries that can help, and that means sending soldiers to missions abroad. The right way is to be at as many crisis points as possible, so we should send small, self-sufficient contingents. We could send even more abroad.

TPP: You want to participate in more missions?

KK: Hypothetically, if the necessity arrives, we would be ready, not by very many people, but a little bit more than we are doing now. These contingents are costing us 1.3 billion Kč [$52.4 million] this year, some 2.5 percent of the Army's budget, so it certainly cannot be called overextension.

TPP: With regard to readiness, an early model Gripen [supersonic fighter jet] crashed into the Baltic Sea this month with no explanation and a few of the ones the Czechs ordered had some navigational glitches. Aren't you a bit worried you bought the wrong planes to replace your Soviet MIGs?

KK: The only thing I am concerned about is the fulfillment of conditions set by the contract, and they are being fulfilled. The Gripens are being delivered with no problems at all. The new fourth-generation supersonic aircraft is a big, very sensitive computer. It can of course be that for a nanosecond, the temperature of oil can be higher than the limit, by a nano degree, and this is nothing; it is being tested and controlled by our experts and Swedish experts.

TPP: Speaking of equipment, the government is looking favorably at paying 3 billion Kč for 1,000 Tatra trucks without a public tender, claiming that the trucks fall within the EU rule that allows for the scrapping of company competitions in the case of military equipment. But at least one firm, Poličské strojírny-Daimler Chrysler, is threatening to challenge the government on this. Your thoughts?

KK: No country within the EU that has a national producer of trucks has ever bought the basic equipment from abroad. In the case of war you don't want to be seeking spare parts from abroad. I think the purchase is within the EU rules, but I am not a lawyer. Wait, I am a lawyer, but only by education. It is a question for the producer, lawyers and the general staff to determine whether the trucks are indeed military equipment.

TPP: Petr Nečas, the shadow defense minister, says 95 percent of the purchases last year by the Defense Ministry were made without a tender. What on earth is the ministry doing?

KK: It's not true. Roughly half of our acquisitions and work contracts involved competitions. There are companies who don't get what they want so they complain, but our figures are rather comparable to other EU countries.

TPP: If you are so transparent, how come nobody knows what the Gripen offsets are?

KK: The offset investment has a time span of 10 years and the contract was only signed last April. The companies involved will make an announcement June 9, but I can tell you the Swedes have the best record of all on delivering on offsets.

Dinah A. Spritzer can be reached at dspritzerpraguepost.com




Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.