In the Line of Fire
Hungary becomes a front-line buffer zone for geopolitical aspirations -- again
As the US inches its way toward another war against Iraq, Hungary finds itself playing the same role as it did during the cold war years. Then, their allies were the Soviets; now it's the Americans. This is quite a turnaround considering that during the cold war era people eagerly looked forward to the day when their country would no longer be a buffer zone in the line of fire between two hostile parties. How the times have changed -- and how much had been so easily forgotten.
Of course, there are a few differences between then and now. Then, Hungary was physically right in the midst of it all, along with the Czech Republic and Poland. It was no wonder why these three countries took the opportunity to immediately bolt from under the shadow of the Soviets when the walls came tumbling down in 1989.
The main difference now is that all three countries are no longer in the same physical position as they used to be. Iraq is a long way off, and Central and Eastern Europe is not even in the line of fire. The only threat these countries may encounter are Arab money changers in the train stations passing off counterfeit currency.
Even so, the Hungarian government considers the country's position as precarious -- if not more so -- than during the cold war years. One explanation could be that many members of the present government -- including the prime minister -- were also in power during the cold war years, and the war on terrorism now offers them a tinge of nostalgia for the "good old days".
The countries of Central and Eastern Europe are willing allies of Washington
A more likely explanation, however, is that the countries of Central and Eastern Europe are simply being made to dance to Washington's tune. The US takes it for granted that the countries of Central and Eastern Europe will follow its line. This is because countries like Hungary have chosen to be lapdogs for US foreign policy. It's nothing more than political expediency, for none are strong enough to stand up to Uncle Sam. Indeed, many feel they don't really have much of a choice. In fact, in some ways they feel indebted to the US. After all, it's the price they had to pay for joining NATO and their admission to the other exclusive clubs of the west -- both political and economic.
In addition to all this, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe are also quite aware that the US provides a convenient mechanism with which to leverage their interests vis-a-vis the EU. Naturally, this type of power play doesn't always work. Turkey hoped to get faster access to the EU this way; thus in return for Istanbul's co-operation in the upcoming war on Iraq, the US leaned on their European allies -- but to no avail.
As a result of this unique symbiotic relationship (which is quite one-sided and in favour of Uncle Sam), the next time the US asks for or needs support, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe will no doubt become excellent allies, offsetting the more independent-minded states of the EU such as France and Germany. In effect, it's the equivalent of writing the US a blank cheque. As Tim Sebastian of the BBC previously noted in an interview on this very same topic with Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the president of Bulgaria, "this is strong-arm stuff, bullying to the extreme."
To this extent, Hungary feels obliged to take a more active role in US-led actions in the rest of the world. Hence, the past few weeks have been rife with debate and controversy over the government's plans for Hungary's more pro-military direction.
Hungary as a training ground for US-led Iraqi forces
The first such controversy was the announcement that the government was considering an offer by the US to establish a rocket defense system within the country. There was much vocal opposition over the idea, as the notion that Hungary would become a front-line battleground became that much more apparent.
The justification for dumping missiles in Hungary was nonsense, to say the least. In noting the missile capabilities of Iraq should that country resort to using their scuds, the defense minister, Ferenc Juhasz, mentioned how the range of such missiles could easily hit Hungary as they have a range of 2,000 miles, thus a missile defense system for Hungary would be a good thing. What was surprising was not that Juhasz was totally off the mark with this statement, but that the media failed to correct him on this; even the US admits that the longest range Iraqi missiles could reach is about 200 miles.
Undeterred, Juhasz then tried to appeal to the heart and soul of every Hungarian -- their wallets. The defense minister was at pains to stress the fact that the missile defense system offered by the US would not cost Hungary anything. Unfortunately, like so much military-industrial junk coming from the west, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have been an ideal dumping ground for old and useless technology. It seems nothing much has changed since the walls came tumbling down.
Another contentious point of the government's new military agenda was the support for an eventual attack against Iraq by using Hungary as a training ground for US-led Iraqi forces. The Iraqis would be trained by the Americans at the Taszar base in southern Hungary.
The terms of this training center are still quite vague and there is much uncertainty about the whole affair. The government insists that the Taszar base would be used to train about 5,000 Iraqi "interpreters" that would be used in the event of a war in Iraq. Why there is a need to teach so many Iraqis how to speak English in Hungary is not at all clear, and local residents are justifiably worried, this contrary to Juhasz's assertion that people are happy with the idea. Again, he tried to appeal to people's economic sense; most people would love to have the American military in their neighbourhood, as it brings jobs and income. However, one just has to look back to the Bay Pigs fiasco to understand that the Iraqis to be trained at Taszar would most likely not be "interpreters" but special commando units under US command and control.
Re-militarizing of Eastern Europe
Finally, the most contentious proposal of the government's new military strategy was the plan to send an armed contingent to Afghanistan. This plan drew widespread criticism and debate, and the government eventually had to withdraw the suggestion as the opposition boycotted the idea. A parliamentary majority of two-thirds is required for sending troops abroad, and with a parliament split almost fifty-fifty, the government had no choice but to retreat. Instead, a compromise was worked out where a medical contingent would be sent to Afghanistan instead.
The government, and in particular Juhasz, did their best to sell the idea. They did this by frequently mixing up fact with fiction. Firstly, they noted that Hungary needed to live up to its obligations, this despite the fact that Hungary is in no way obliged to send troops to Afghanistan. Likewise, talk of NATO and the infamous Chapter Five was often thrown into the debate even though the Afghanistan mission has nothing to do at all with NATO nor Chapter Five. In much the same way, the war on terror and the Iraqi crisis are often used interchangeably, even though they are two completely separate issues and having nothing in common, with the exception of US belligerence. In the end, the only argument left to fall back on was that it was a question of national prestige, which is probably why the main opposition party decided to offer a conciliatory gesture of a medical contingent rather than a full military unit.
As the debates continue over Hungary's new military role in world affairs, one can't help but to think what has really been lost in the new world order of the Third Millennium. When the end of the cold war supposedly happened, people were injected with a dose of idealism, of a world where war would be a thing of the past (this despite the fact that hundreds of wars were still going on worldwide). Commitments were made to reduce the number of armed forces and to close down military bases and training grounds throughout the country. All this has now been thrown onto the trash heap of history, as the countries of Central and Eastern Europe re-militarise against an enemy they can't see, no less understand.