And here's the crux of this German intrigue:
... Schroeder was in Beijing last week working to prevent a Chinese veto. He clearly promised the Chinese that NATO was going to provide a full explanation, in public, of the bombing and he plans to deliver. If Bill Clinton or the NATO command is embarrassed by the revelations, that is their problem, from the German point of view. Indeed, an embarrassing expose might allow Schroeder to do what he very badly wants to do anyway, which is to end German participation in the war without being responsible for splitting NATO. Depending on what the report says, he can blame all damage to NATO on the Americans.
Schroeder was indeed in Beijing last week but he came home with an empty bag! All he managed to squeeze out of PRC Prez Jiang was a promise that Germany will do her best to have NATO fully disclosing the files pertaining to the bombing of the Chinese embassy! Well, maybe that's no too bad a start for a junior diplomat --especially with China. Such a sizeable piece of jingoism for Helmut Kohl's puny successor...
Besides, as I stated in my previous posts, I'm not naive about the bombing of the Chinese embassy: it was a deliberate hit. Yet, chewing the cud over and over, I begin to think of it as a possible maneuver by the US to screw up any UN interference in a future peace enforcing settlement, leaving a NATO-only intervention as the only remaining option. The Chinese get pissed off and then give the US a warning kick about a possible WTO compensation... But, at this point, instead of making amends to the Chinese, the US just slam the WTO door in their face! LOL! Hence Schroeder's pointless voyage to Beijing.
Hell, I couldn't care less: every trick should get turned to account to bend Milosevic!
Cordiales salutations,
Gustave. |
