-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! US hawks push Bush to get tough on China Michael Sheridan and Tony Allen-Mills Pitching in: Bush relaxes in Milwaukee but is under pressure to play hardball with China. Photograph: Larry Downing © PRESIDENT George W Bush faced mounting pressure from American conservatives to get tough with China yesterday, as Beijing jolted hopes of an imminent breakthrough in talks over the return of a US navy spy plane and its 24 crew. The wife of a Chinese fighter pilot missing since a collision with the American plane last Sunday sent a bitter personal letter to Bush, and China's foreign policy supremo told the United States its expressions of "regret" were not enough. In the letter, Ruan Guoqin, wife of Lieutenant Colonel Wang Wei, 33, the pilot the Americans accuse of causing last Sunday's collision with the EP-3E Aries spy plane, told Bush: "You must understand what it means when an old couple lose their only son, when a tender child loses his dear father and when a young wife loses her husband. What is incredible is you and your government's apathetic attitude to my husband's life. "You are too cowardly to voice an apology and have been trying to shirk your responsibility repeatedly and defame my husband groundlessly. Can this be the human rights . . . that you talk about every day?" In a letter to Colin Powell, the secretary of state, Qian Qichen, the Chinese vice-premier, wrote: "Regrettably, the US statement on this incident so far is unacceptable." He reiterated Chinese demands for a formal apology. Diplomats in Beijing said the moves seemed to undermine negotiations over the text of a possible compromise. Bush and Powell are pinning their hopes on an exchange of formal letters that would repeat American "regrets" and revive a 1988 agreement that provides for consultations on military activities. In Washington there were signs of growing impatience in Republican ranks at Bush's reluctance to threaten retaliation. Donald Rumsfeld, the hawkish Pentagon chief, was reported to be "worn out by the diplomats . . . He wants to stop the pattycakes". Several prominent conservatives were appalled when Condoleezza Rice, Bush's national security adviser, spoke of the need to preserve good relations with Beijing. American officials in Hainan prepared for a drawn-out saga yesterday, purchasing items such as contact lens solution and nail clippers for the 21 men and three women of the crew. But they were refused permission to take a mobile phone into a meeting with them. The Americans claim that private Chinese negotiating positions are more reasonable than their public rhetoric. But not even the behind-the-scenes involvement of Henry Kissinger, a veteran of talks with China, was having much impact on a snakepit of contending factions in Beijing. Meanwhile, US spy plane flights appear to be continuing. Chinese officials claim that 10 of their fighters "chased away" five intruders last week. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! <A HREF!ttp://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ÝÝÝCTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÚrchives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF!ttp://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF!ttp:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝo subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
