China's Potential Role in Iran-UK Standoff: Remember the 2001 Incident with US Aircrew?

[CorpGovActivist]

"U.S. Aircrew Detained in China Heads Home": http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Apr2001/n04122001_200104121.html

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=china+detained+americans+airplane+april+2001

The outcome of that incident - which was drowned out months later by 9/11 - could provide a template for how the Iran matter might resolve peacefully.

China could play a very constructive role here, if the Bush and Blair foreign policy teams let it. For example, China could offer to conduct a modern survey of the narrow Shatt-al-Arab, and/or provide a system of high-tech markers to prevent future "misunderstandings," a diplomatic term of art that would allow all involved to save face.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shatt_Al_Arab

Having detained a Western crew that "strayed" into its territory, China has the chops and props to speak to Iran from the heart, West-tweaker to West-tweaker: "you've made your point, and the only place for this to go on CNN from here is war graphics and 24-hour coverage of smart bombs dropping."

- Dave

[Warren Stupidity]

1. So then China worldly advise Iran to hold out until they get

pretty much everything they want and humiliate us in the process? I'm not quite sure what the corollary to 'chopping up the EP-3 and shipping it home in a box' would be though.

China pushed back our intrusive air surveillance, got us to issue one public 'not quite a full apology' after another, forced us to pay damages, and put the bush cabal on notice that they were not intimidated at all by their anti-china saber rattling.

Meanwhile we are holding five Iranians seized from an Iranian consular office, have been holding them for months, and refuse to even begin negotiations over their release.