Terrorists among us

Václav Klaus was rumored in April 2003 to have told the U.S. ambassador that if weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq, they might have been planted there. Even some Czech officials, including a few in the Klaus governments, have seen the advantages of exaggerating the security risks as a way to increase defense or spy spending, but they've done it in a decidedly Czech way. The Sobotka cabinet could have easily blamed the Vrbětice explosions on terrorists but didn't. Maybe it didn't want the CIA stumbling onto any shady business deals there. Terrorism was also quickly ruled out in the death of the Palestinian ambassador. Three of six Czech extremists arrested last week have now been charged with planning a terrorist attack against a train. It's not at all clear what they wanted to achieve, but it must not have been so serious. Instead of being shipped off to Guantanamo, one of them was even released on bail.