The United States of America apologizes to the People's Republic of China for allowing our reconnaissance plane to be hit by your poorly trained, hotdogging fighter pilot, while flying international airspace. We're sorry we have to fly surveillance missions to monitor a country that has nuclear missiles pointed at us. We're sorry your pilot didn't follow international standards of fighter intercept protocol. We're sorry his aircraft recognition skills were so poor he didn't realize the EP-3 aircraft was propeller driven and flew his aircraft through its propeller arc, destroying his aircraft and nearly killing 24 American crewmen. We're sorry your fighter pilot's survival training and equipment was so inadequate that he couldn't survive until your poorly trained and equipped navy could find him (they turned down our offer for search and rescue assistance). We're sorry you violated international law and arrested the crewmen of an aircraft that legally diverted into your airfield under emergency conditions caused by your pilot's actions. We're sorry you violated international law and boarded a state aircraft. We're sorry you are losing so much face over this. We're sorry that you were able to steal missile and nuclear secrets from us. We're sorry you haven't learned from the Soviet Union's collapse and failed to embrace democracy (compare tiny Taiwan and mainland China; same people, same culture, but Taiwan's economy is a powerhouse and China's economy is still mired in communism). And most of all, we're sorry for the Chinese people who suffer its leaders' incompetence. P.S. If a speed boat goes out to inspect a cruise ship and they collide, who do you think is at fault? Back to Dispatch June 2001 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by HMGS Mid-South This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com