This can only be achieved, however, through cooperation between intelligence services and police, a cooperation as broad as that of those planning the attacks.

It is therefore good that Paris and Washington, D.C., have continued to exchange information even at times when the presidents of the two countries argued over the war in Iraq. British and French experiences also show that not even the most sophisticated of technologies is enough to penetrate Islamic radical groups. Often the only solution is to go the way of the most traditional spy method: to have an agent work behind enemy lines.

As a terrorist target, the flight connection between Britain and the United States is often rather simply explained as the symbol of Blair-Bush cooperation. But how many are aware that in December 2005 the French police arrested a dozen armed radicals with links to North Africa and Britain? There were no changes in flight schedules back then.

We could pay heavily for living under the illusion that only Washington and London are terrorist targets. So are Madrid, Paris and other Western Europe capital cities. And we are a part of this region. To think that all it takes to defeat terrorism is to capture or kill Al Qaida leaders is a just a dangerous illusion. Any group of Islamic radicals is liable to use Al Qaeda's logic and methods. And thus, if we want to succeed in fighting international terrorism, we need an analysis revealing its very roots, ťerný writes.

The president deserves thanks — the Hungarian president, to be precise. U.S. President George Bush asked him when he plans to visit the United States, and Laszlo Solyom told him: as soon as the United States cancels the visa duty for Hungarian citizens, Petr Schnur writes in Právo Aug. 9.

Some wise person once said that as first citizen, a president has the duty to defend the interests, freedom and dignity of his country. Regarding the visa issue, Laszlo Solyom did a good job. Czech citizens have a lot less to brag about. Czech politicians don't have to explain their doings to the nation, which is something we saw when British clerks were allowed to approve persons traveling to London from Prague's Ruzynď Airport, a selection based, for example, on the color of their skin. When facing a problem, a Czech politician either accepts the situation in silence or looks for someone abroad to produce a solution; in the visa case, Czech politicians look to Brussels. However, it could be that EU institutions are no longer the only card in the Czech visa duty game. Some turn their eyes to the possibility of a U.S. anti-missile base in the Czech Republic. Hungarians show no interest in the base and Prague sees its chance in hope that as an obedient servant it will be rewarded. Czech political representatives failed to notice the reality of being "obedient" and "willing." To learn more about differences in the attitude of Czech and Hungarian politicians, we should consider in the past. While in 1867, Hungarian politicians fought for the autonomy of their nation inside the Habsburg Empire and won it, Czech politicians assured the emperor of their loyalty and called those who fought for the national cause extremists, Schnur writes.