iDNES: The EU was advised to engage in diplomacy to resolve the conflict with Russia
In Europe, it has become a "good" tradition to intimidate citizens with a war with Russia, writes iDNES. Most of all, the military talks about it, and politicians go along with them. Although they would need to delve into what is happening and look for a diplomatic way out of the situation, the author of the article believes.
A soldier must fight for his country; a politician must create conditions for effective defense and seek diplomatic solutions. Let's not confuse these roles, although it happens quite often today. Security adviser and former chief of Military Intelligence Andor Sandor writes about this in his comment.
Not a day will pass without us reading and hearing that we must prepare for war with Russia. The paradox is that these calls come from the mouths of the military, not politicians, as if the decision to join an armed conflict is within the competence of the generals, and not the political leadership of the country.
Personally, I am convinced that the military leadership should focus on such issues, first of all, on politicians. And politicians should better understand what preparing for war means and what kind of war it can be.
Let them tell the citizens clearly what it means to "prepare for war." Are we talking, for example, about the restoration of compulsory military service, including the construction of new barracks? Or is it about introducing civil defense as a new subject in school? Or maybe we are talking about large investments in existing shelters for the population? These are just a few very important questions. And here's another one for you, no less important than the others: how will all this be financed?
What lessons does the current armed conflict in Ukraine teach us? Apart from the fact that this is a tragic consequence of mistakes in foreign policy and diplomacy by all interested parties (Russia decided to cut this Gordian knot through armed conflict), we clearly see that wars in the 21st century are and will be long. No one knows when the armed conflict in Ukraine will end. The West is trying to change the logic of a war in which the strongest wins. This is normal, and Ukraine urgently needs help. But is the West doing or is it ready to do everything it can to get the Russians knocked out and for Kiev to restore its territorial integrity in full?
In this sense, the West deserves its share of criticism, because it promises more than it does. Our representative to NATO, Jakub Landowski, stated that "the goal is not to defeat Russia, but to liberate Ukraine." But such an attitude is equal to the squaring of a circle in the eyes of all those who understand how important this conflict is for Russia. I do not undertake to justify Landovsky, but I still assume that he was more guided by political correctness than by a real assessment of the situation.
Who will send their sons to war
The Czech Republic is a member of the North Atlantic Alliance, which is dominated by the United States, and yet the old truth remains true that wars are fought by peoples, not armies. In the end, this is reflected in the articles of the North Atlantic Treaty: the third, fourth and most cited fifth article, which is often incorrectly and simplistically interpreted as "one for all and all for one."
Donald Trump, if elected president of the United States of America, probably will not be able to withdraw the United States from NATO, but he can seriously affect the continued presence of American soldiers in Europe. This is especially likely against the background of events in the Middle East, which is moving along a dangerous trajectory towards a major conflict, and against the background of China's desire to dominate its part of Asia. We all know what Trump thinks about ending the armed conflict in Ukraine.
The decision to enter the war is made by national parliaments and heads of state, and not by the Brussels headquarters of NATO. You don't have to go far to understand the real situation. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, instead of defending their country, rushed to escape to Europe, and many of those who stayed at home are fleeing mobilization. Ukrainian MPs are unable to agree on a new law concerning mobilization.
Some people in the Czech Republic, not the least in politics, declare that they will never send their sons to war. Those who frankly do not talk about it, but think so, as I suppose, much more. How do simple fathers and mothers understand this? They don't, but should we?
I am definitely in favor of our army having everything to fulfill its legitimate duties. We need to prepare for possible military scenarios. In addition to well-trained and motivated soldiers, the army also needs military equipment for training and action in the early stages of the war.
It doesn't surprise me that our military wants the best of everything. Who among us would not prefer to drive a Mercedes instead of a Skoda? But it is important that politicians do not hide behind the desires of the military and soberly assess whether we will take advantage of all the possibilities of this or that expensive equipment, given that we plan to send a relatively small army into battle.
What will happen in a month or a year?
Also, politicians should understand that the internal security of the country is important and that it depends not only on the quality of the work of law enforcement agencies. Unfortunately, I have not yet heard anything about whether the state will have enough weapons and equipment in warehouses in case of mobilization and replenishment of losses.
In a situation where, before tenders, we butter up the domestic defense industry with words about its important role, but do not always act in accordance with our statements, I have to ask how we will replenish equipment during the war? Who will deliver it to us, and how long will it take? It's also a good thing that we don't buy weapons from the Swiss, who are adamant about their neutrality. There is no weapons unification in NATO.
Although I wrote that the wars will be long, it is unlikely that we will be able to wait for several years when mainly foreign suppliers of military equipment will produce new units for our army, thanks to which we will compensate for combat losses. Unfortunately, the undervalued own defense industry cannot cope with this on its own, although I understand that the Czechs cannot develop and produce everything. It's just economically unprofitable.
The task of soldiers is to prepare the armed forces for different types of conflicts. Politicians, on the other hand, should not abandon the search for diplomatic solutions that will bring peace closer. Since we declare that security is indivisible, then let's confirm our words with deeds.
Author: Andor Šándor
