-----Original Message----- From: D.L. <boddhisatva at mindspring.com> To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com>
>This bombing was a completely free shot
>at the Chinese foreign service and it would be, in the minds of Americans,
a
>completely justifiable attack. The reasons for the attack are only
obvious
>to the people who were attacked but in case they aren't getting the
message,
>the U.S. has made it as obvious as they can.
This is the only credible version of a deliberate attack on the Chinese, in which case the whole diplomatic ruckus between the countries is all "sound and fury" signifying nothing. It still seems extremely unlikely, since it happened just as the US was trying to close a deal that was going to have to include the Chinese. One of my favorite quotes comes from Robert Heinlein, "Never assume viciousness when plain studity is a sufficient answer."
Hell, if the result of this is that the pro-American model types in both Russia and China lose a bit of internal power, that seems all to the good.
--Nathan