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Brdy residents deserve more than promises
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October 17th, 2007 issue

How much might the U.S. government be willing to spend to keep a friend?

That’s the question that seems to be on the minds of the folks in the Brdy region of central and west Bohemia these days, as the United States continues its efforts to put a radar site there (see story, A1). The facility would be built on an existing 260-square kilometer [162 mile] military base that’s been in the region since 1926.
While global debates rage about whether U.S. plans to build a new missile defense system could start a new Cold War between West and East, village residents in the rural hills of Brdy have more basic needs at heart.
Like getting clean water and reasonable roads, for example.
Mayors of the little towns also want to clean up their sewer systems and revamp cultural centers.
At the highest levels of government, Czech officials recently allocated up to 250 million Kč (close to $13 million) to rebuild infrastructure in these hamlets. As much as 1 billion Kč of European Union funds could be tapped for fix-up. What we haven’t heard yet is how much money might come from the U.S.
It seems likely that a new radar base would bring lots of new construction and workers to the region, meaning plenty of potential for economic development. While there’s been no final price tag put on the plans, it’s certain to be a large number, given that officials are already spending more than $1 million just on an advertising campaign to convince citizens that the radar base is a good idea.
Local opposition politicians call the new improvement money a “bribe” to get the residents of the region to accept something they might otherwise find unpalatable. It’s a well-known tactic that the U.S. government itself has used in trying to get impoverished areas to agree to become storage sites for nuclear waste.
What’s more important than selling the base with ad campaigns and promises of economic goodies is to run an honest and open information program that will allow residents of the Brdy area to make an informed decision about what they want in their backyard. Among the concerns they’ve already voiced are potential health risks associated with living near radar (though none have been shown to exist) and the understandable fear of being a target for Russian rockets.
At this point, how much say those residents will have in the final decision remains an open question. Certainly an argument can be made that geopolitical concerns should take precedence over local concerns of a small region in central Bohemia, especially if the residents are willing to accept improvements in their quality of life as a trade-off for living next to a controversial military facility.
But their voices should be heard. And both governments should ensure that whatever decisions they make are well-informed, based on facts rather than promises that all too often turn out to be hollow.


Other articles in Opinion (17/10/2007):

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