{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-572d6a42.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-f4d0de30.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='CZECH REPUBLIC: COUNTRY IS FRONT-RUNNER FOR MEMBERSHIP TO NATO' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c0c2d8eafeecae14d286' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c0c2d8eafeecae14d286' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nCZECH REPUBLIC: COUNTRY IS FRONT-RUNNER FOR MEMBERSHIP TO NATO\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eEng/Czech/NatNext week, the leaders of NATO countries gather in Madrid to decide if the military  alliance that oversaw the end of the Cold War will accept its old enemies.One of the front-runners for membership is the Czech Republic -...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eEng/Czech/Nat\u003cbr/\u003eNext week, the leaders of NATO countries gather in Madrid to decide if the military  alliance that oversaw the end of the Cold War will accept its old enemies.\u003cbr/\u003eOne of the front-runners for membership is the Czech Republic - but opinion polls show  that only a slight majority of people are in favour of joining NATO.\u003cbr/\u003eIn the former Eastern Bloc, NATO membership comes with a hefty price tag.\u003cbr/\u003eArmies must update themselves to be compatible with NATO and old government-run  defence industries are facing new competition from Western arms dealers.\u003cbr/\u003eCzechs themselves are at best lukewarm to NATO, seeing membership more as a step  towards integration with the West rather than as a counter to any real threat.\u003cbr/\u003eIn the forested hills near the German border, the Czech army fights an imaginary  enemy.\u003cbr/\u003eIn these war games the Czechs successfully liberate a Bohemian village.\u003cbr/\u003eIn practice it has worked out fine, but in reality the Czech military has not always  shown similar abilities.\u003cbr/\u003eAs a small country surrounded by powerful neighbours, it has been gobbled up several  times in history while its friends stood by.\u003cbr/\u003eIn 1938, the Allies gave away the then-Czechoslovakia to Hitler, and in 1968 NATO  watched as Soviet tanks crushed the Prague Spring.\u003cbr/\u003eBut these manoeuvres are a sign that Europe has indeed changed. \u003cbr/\u003eThe soldiers from this division are off to Scotland later this summer - hopefully with a  NATO invitation in hand - for joint practice with the British army.\u003cbr/\u003eThe Czech military believes that it must be allied with its neighbours for security.\u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE: (Czech)\u003cbr/\u003e\"The Czech Republic will not stand alone but will be allied with other countries, like our  neighbours like Poland and Germany. And we'll have a much better chance to defend  ourselves.\"\u003cbr/\u003eSUPER CAPTION: Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Surnak, Third Mechanised Brigade, Czech  Army\u003cbr/\u003eThe Czech government has been actively pursuing its invitation to join NATO, despite  not having been served well by military alliances in the past.\u003cbr/\u003eThe head of the Czech Defence Committee says NATO is more than just security, but  a grouping of nations to which the Czech Republic naturally belongs.\u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE: (English)\u003cbr/\u003e\"For us it's not only the question of security and risk. For us it's also the question of  values and responsibilities. We have got the same values as NATO and we would like  to take part in protection of these values and share the responsibilities.\"\u003cbr/\u003eSUPER CAPTION: Petr Necas, M-P, Chairman of Committee for Defence and Security,  Czech Republic\u003cbr/\u003eBut an invitation to join NATO does not come free.\u003cbr/\u003eDefence industries in Eastern Europe, like the Aero Vodochody jet fighter plant outside  Prague, are having a tough time, with their governments under Western pressure to buy  NATO-compatible hardware.\u003cbr/\u003eAero Vodochody used to produce up to 250 planes a year. \u003cbr/\u003eBut since markets disappeared with the collapse of the Warsaw Pact they manage just  a fraction of that.\u003cbr/\u003eThe Czech government has been trying to both save its industry and placate the West.\u003cbr/\u003eIt's chosen Boeing-McDonnell Douglas to take control of 34 percent of the company  while the Czech military has put in a 720 (m) million U-S dollar order for 72 L-159's, a  combat fighter developed to be NATO-compatible.\u003cbr/\u003eBut the Communist party of the Czech Republic, the third largest in parliament and still  a real force in society, argues against NATO, saying that the money could be better  spent on health and education.\u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE: (English)\u003cbr/\u003e\"The entrance, the involvement of the Czech Republic in the NATO structures is very  good business for corporations like Rockwell and McDonnell-Douglas and other  producers of weapons. It is good business for the present political establishment of  these countries in Central and Eastern Europe, but it's bad business for people in these  countries.\"\u003cbr/\u003eSUPER CAPTION: Miloslav Ransdorf, M-P, Vice-Chairman of the Communist Party of  Bohemia and Moravia\u003cbr/\u003eThe latest opinion polls show a slim majority of 51 percent of Czechs for NATO.\u003cbr/\u003eMost believe further integration with the West means more better security.\u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE: (Czech)\u003cbr/\u003e\"I am for NATO because it is the only defence structure that works. So why not join?   Who else could defend us?\"\u003cbr/\u003eSUPER CAPTION: Czech citizen for NATO\u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE: (Czech)\u003cbr/\u003e\"I think that it's the next step towards the West rather than towards the East. What  else can I say?\"\u003cbr/\u003eSUPER CAPTION: Czech citizen for NATO\u003cbr/\u003eThe Czech Republic is indeed the most \"Western\" of the former East Bloc.\u003cbr/\u003eCzechs love to boast that Prague is further west than Vienna.\u003cbr/\u003eBut in Madrid, the leaders will be voting on more than whether or not the new  democracies of Eastern Europe need NATO security.\u003cbr/\u003eBy letting these Czech soldiers join, NATO will also be trying to prove the organisation's  relevance in post-Cold War Europe.\u003cbr/\u003eVarious, Czech Republic, June and July 1997\u003cbr/\u003eJune 26th 1997, Velka Hledsebe, Czech Republic:\u003cbr/\u003e1. Soldier squatting in front of destroyed building\u003cbr/\u003e2. Building with bomb exploding inside\u003cbr/\u003e3. Soldier crawling through grass with sound of gunfire\u003cbr/\u003e4. Window with automatic weapon fire\u003cbr/\u003e5. Building with smoke bomb burning\u003cbr/\u003e6. Soldiers run past burning building and open door to \"enemy\" building\u003cbr/\u003e7. Soldiers entering building\u003cbr/\u003e8. SOUNDBITE: (Czech) Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Surnak\u003cbr/\u003eJuly 3rd 1997, Prague, Czech Republic:\u003cbr/\u003e9. Petr Necas\u003cbr/\u003e10. Petr Necas at desk\u003cbr/\u003e11. SOUNDBITE: (English) Petr Necas, MP, Chairman of the Committee of Defence  and Security\u003cbr/\u003eJune 25th 1997, Prague, Czech Republic:\u003cbr/\u003e12. Interior of Aero Vodochody factory, workers taking nose cone off jet fighter\u003cbr/\u003e13. Working inserting bolts into jet fighter\u003cbr/\u003e14. Workers sitting in cockpits of jet fighters\u003cbr/\u003e15. Worker\u003cbr/\u003e16. Workers pushing jet fighter into hangar\u003cbr/\u003e17. Workers pushing\u003cbr/\u003eJune 26th 1997, Prague, Czech Republic:\u003cbr/\u003e18. Miloslav Ransdorf\u003cbr/\u003e19. Ransdorf\u003cbr/\u003e20. SOUNDBITE: (English) Miloslav Ransdorf, Vice-chairman of the Communist Party of  Bohemia and Moravia\u003cbr/\u003eJuly 3rd 1997, Prague, Czech Republic:\u003cbr/\u003e21. Old Town square in Prague\u003cbr/\u003e22. Monument on Old Town Square in Prague\u003cbr/\u003e23. VOXPOP: Czech man\u003cbr/\u003e24. VOXPOP: Czech man\u003cbr/\u003e25. Prague scene\u003cbr/\u003eJune 26th 1997, Velka Hledsebe, Czech Republic:\u003cbr/\u003e26. Soldiers taking prisoners out of enemy building\u003cbr/\u003e27. Soldier frisking captured soldiers\u003cbr/\u003e28. 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