Ambassador of war

Since winning the Cold War, the U.S. has been in a constant state of hot war. A report by the Congressional Research Service found that between 1991 and 2022, the U.S. launched at least 251 military interventions. U.S. Amb. Nicholas Merrick devoted most of his keynote address at the Castle on Thur. to chiding the Babiš government for not spending more on defense, but he started with a sentence of appreciation for "high-level statements of support from our Czech partners." He probably meant especially the categoric support for the war in Iran from Vice PM Karel Havlíček. Merrick certainly didn't have in mind House Speaker Tomio Okamura, who insists on making a distinction between "defense" and "arms" spending. More pertinent would be to draft separate "defense" and "war" budgets. By insisting on 5% "defense" spending by 2035, Donald Trump and his ambassador of war in Prague are really saying that Czechs and other allies are focusing too much on defense and not enough on supporting the business of war.