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President Bush handles his first foreign policy crisis and gets through it by learning the importance of simply saying, "I'm sorry." He and the nation can learn some valuable lessons from this experience, especially to ignore the vitriolic voices of right-wing hardliners when lives are at stake.
The first few days were shaky for the President. The Chinese jet clipped our Navy spy plane, sending the Chinese pilot to his death and forcing our crew to land their crippled plane without permission on Chinese territory.
This upset the Chinese, and since they had the plane and crew, they held the big trump cards.
But the tone of the White House hardly recognized that, and the early pronouncements from Bush's wisdom-challenged staff crafted a message that did more harm than good.
Remember, while Bush has a lot of veterans from his dad's and Ronald Reagan's national security team, most of them focused on the Soviet Union, not China.
The U.S.-China relationship also has undergone serious strains.
The NATO bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, a tragedy caused by CIA incompetence, Chinese concerns about planned weapon sales to Taiwan, and their fears about Bush's National Missile Defense plan all fuel an uneasy relationship.
But the most serious strain remains the totalitarian regime in China with a human rights record that old Joe Stalin would admire. No matter how much the modern Chinese dress like us and buy our products, and multinational corporations eye the enormous market that is China, we remain significantly at odds on the most fundamental level.
As long as China jails political prisoners, silences dissidents, uses prison labor, forces abortions and continues to insist on state control of most aspects of people's lives, we will be naturally apart.
China still endures the influence of the murderous gerontocracy willing to slaughter its own children at Tiennamen Square to maintain power and control. These disgusting thugs and their allies in the military need conflict to foster loyalty and kindle a sense that it's the people's national duty to stand with the leadership whenever they are at odds with the United States.
How we deal with that conflict without turning to violent solutions is a formidable task all presidents will face for the foreseeable future.
But while the President realized how tricky the situation was and turned to a more nuanced approach to ending the stalemate, the jackals attacked.
The conservative "Weekly Standard" called the delay in getting the crew returned a "national humiliation." The President was vilified for his reasoned caution. The editors of the "Weekly Standard" have virtually no military experience themselves, and their only taste in combat is spearing a martini olive and snipping off the ends of expensive cigars.
Yet playing to the frenzy of their right-wing readers--and their own arrogance--the paper advanced a position, that, if followed, could have worsened the situation and risked lives.
And then the political opportunists jumped in. First there was old Henry Hyde, the former chairman, a.k.a. Grand Inquisitor, of the House Judiciary Committee. White-maned Henry hitched up his horse for a self-righteous ride he couldn't resist, even at the expense of a republican President.
Henry now chairs the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and he huffed and puffed on the Republican side about the godless Chinese and how we had to show the world how strong we are. The world will be better when Henry retires.
But the political opportunism was most bipartisan. New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Torricelli is increasingly becoming known as one of the most slippery weasels in Congress. Just check out his campaign fund-raising practices and questionable high-tech investments. A big scandal's brewing in Torricelli's neighborhood.
With clear partisan glee, he referred to the Navy crew as "hostages," and Torricelli foolishly urged the President to withdraw the U.S. Ambassador from China. Smart time to do that, Bobby Boy.
While "statesman" never will be used to describe Torricelli, "hack politician from New Jersey" always fits him just fine.
As the reckless rhetoric rang out, responsible adults were working to end the crisis and get the crew home safely.
Secretary of State Colin Powell, a steady voice of restraint, reason and experience, was quick to advise the "regret route." That approach ultimately prevailed. Our crew is home, and the Chinese saved face. Let's hope this scare makes us think of better ways to deal with the Chinese.
But let's also hope the President understands in the future how worthless bellicose bellowing is and how valuable careful contrition can be.